Ball State University Athletics
No. 10 Men's Volleyball Tops Springfield College 3-0
January 27, 2006 | Men's Volleyball
Muncie, Ind. - - The No. 10 Ball State (5-0) men's volleyball team pushed its winning streak to five matches with a 3-0 (30-21, 30-18, 30-26) victory over the visiting Springfield College Pride (3-1) Friday evening at John E. Worthen Arena. The Cardinals used a balanced offensive attack to tame the Pride, with 10 players recording at least one kill in the match.
"It was really nice to see our offense get back on track," said head coach Joel Walton. "I thought Dave did a great job of setting our offense in the second game, in which we hit .371, and giving our attackers balls they could smash.
"In the third game, we were able to get some of our nonstarters in the match, and while we struggled early, they settled into the contest and played strong in the end."
Offensively, the Cardinals were paced by a pair of former high school teammates, as junior Patrick Durbin (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S) posted a match-best 12 kills and freshman Todd Chamberlain (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) added a career-best 10 kills.
The pair would also add five digs and two service aces each, while Durbin posted three total blocks and Chamberlain collected one.
In the opening set, Springfield College jumped out to a 6-3 advantage before the Cardinals tied the set at 8-8. After playing to an 11-11 tie, a Pride attack error gave Ball State its first lead of the match at 12-11. SC would trail by only one point at 18-17, before a 12-4 BSU run ended the frame at 30-21. Dave Carlson (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids H.S.) ended the set with one of his two solo blocks on the night.
Ball State would open the second game strong, jumping out to a 5-0 advantage and never looking back. Matt McCarthy (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South H.S.) provided the biggest push, serving seven-straight points for the Cardinals, starting at 17-9 and ending at 24-10 with a service error. BSU would end the stanza with a 30-18 victory capped by a Chamberlain kill.
After the break, the Pride would come out of the locker room and take an early 5-1 advantage in the third set. Springfield College would continue to lead at 15-11, before a seven-point Nick Meyer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller H.S.) service run turned the tide for the Cardinals. Meyer would give BSU an 18-15 edge with a service ace to cap the run before ending it with a service error.
Another highlight of the third game came at the 28-22 mark, when Mark Rumschik (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park H.S.) - - who entered the match one point early with the crowd chanting his name - - tallied his first service ace of the season. SC would eventually draw within three points at 29-26, before a service error ended the match at 30-26.
BSU's setter Carlson would finish the night with 23 assist, before Jim Shiel (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral H.S.) entered the contest in the third game and logged 10 assists. Carlson would also tallied three total blocks, two digs, a kill and a service ace.
Evan Berg (Bristol, Wis./Central H.S.) turned in six kill and six digs in the win, while adding two aces and a block. McCarthy would finish the match with four kills, two blocks and a dig, while Meyer posted four digs, two kills, two aces and two blocks.
Ian Peckler (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills H.S.) would tie for match-high honors with 10 digs. Peckler also recorded his first kill of the season in the third game.
Also factoring in the win for the Cardinals were Doug Willmann (St. Louis, Mo./Francis Howell North H.S.) with three kills and a match-best four total blocks; Ryan Clarke (Baldwin, Mo./Parkway South H.S.) with two kills and three total blocks; Mark Termion (Winfield, Ill./Wheaton North H.S.) with one kill and Ted Summers-Torres (San Diego, Calif./University of San Diego H.S.) with a pair of digs.
For the match, the Cardinals held the advantage in every statistical category, including a .265 to .116 edge in hitting, a
Ryan Fredrickson and Eric Palumbo each collected eight kills to pace the Pride's offense on the night. Fredrickson would also tie for match-high honors with 10 digs.
The Cardinals and the Pride will square off again tomorrow (Saturday) night with another
