Ball State University Athletics
No. 14 Men's Volleyball Posts 3-0 Win at St. Francis
January 15, 2006 | Men's Volleyball
Loretto, Pa. - - The No. 14 Ball State men's volleyball team improved to 3-0 on the season with its third-straight three-game sweep, topping St. Francis 3-0 (30-24, 30-22, 30-28) Sunday afternoon at DeGol Arena.
In the win, Nick Meyer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller H.S.) paced all players with a season-high 20 kills, while adding a career-high tying seven total blocks. He also recorded three digs and a service ace, while hitting an even .500 (
Evan Berg (Bristol, Wis./Central H.S.) and Patrick Durbin (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) each added seven kills in the contest, while posting four and five digs, respectively. Durbin also recorded a pair of blocks.
Dave Carlson (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids H.S.) guided the BSU offense to a .250 (47-19-112) hitting mark on the day, including a .469 (
The Cardinals opened the match with a 3-0 run in the first game and never looked back, taking the opening set 30-24. BSU's largest lead of the frame was nine points at the 19-10 and 20-11 marks. The Red Flash would get as close as four points at 22-18, only to have the Cardinals jump ahead by six at 28-22. Berg would give BSU game point with a kill to make the score 29-23, while a St. Francis service error capped the game at 30-24.
The second game started with the teams trading points to the 8-8 mark, before a 6-1 BSU run gave the Cardinals an edge they would never relinquish. Durbin scored a pair of kills in the run, while Meyer also added a kill. BSU's largest advantage of the set - - eight points - - came at the 29-21 mark off a Berg kill and again at 30-22 off a Meyer kill which ended the frame.
The third stanza was the most competitive of the match, with five lead changes and eight ties. Ball State would start with a 5-2 advantage, only to see the Red Flash tie the contest at 7-7. St. Francis would follow by taking its first lead of the entire match on a BSU attack error. The score remained tight through the 20-20 mark with neither team holding more than a two-point edge.
With the game tied at 20, BSU would go on a 6-2 run, which included a pair of kills from Meyer, to take a 26-22 advantage. St. Francis would answer with a 6-2 run of its own to tie the game for the final time at 28-28. BSU's Todd Chamberlain (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) would break the deadlock with his only kill of the match, while a Doug Willmann (St. Louis, Mo./Parkway South H.S.) service ace capped the game at 30-28 and the match at 3-0.
In addition to his kill, Chamberlain would add a dig in the match, while Willmann would add two blocks and a kill.
Matt McCarthy (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton-Warrenville South) added five kills, five blocks and a dig in the win, while Zoran Grabovac (Des Moines, Iowa/Hoover H.S.) scored five digs, three blocks and a pair of kills.
Ian Peckler (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills) would pace the BSU defense, tying for match-high honors with 10 digs.
Ted Summers-Torres (San Diego, Calif./University of San Diego H.S.) and Mark Rumschik (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park H.S.) would also see action in the victory.
In addition to out-hitting the Red Flash .250 to .127 (38-24-110), BSU held an 11.5 to 4.0 advantage in total blocks and a 38-35 edge in digs, while the teams each posted two service aces.
St. Francis was paced offensively by Cory Spencer's 10 kills, while Zach Nanni tied for match-high honors with 10 digs.
BSU returns to action Friday, when it opens the Don Shondell/Active Ankle Challenge with a
