Ball State University Athletics
No. 9 Men's Volleyball Blanks Mercyhurst, Moves to 11-0
February 11, 2006 | Men's Volleyball
Muncie, Ind. - - The ninth-ranked Ball State men's volleyball team pushed its winning streak to 11 matches, with a 3-0 (30-27, 30-21, 30-28) Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association victory over Mercyhurst Saturday evening at Worthen Arena. With the win, the Cardinals remain the lone undefeated Division I team in the nation, with an 11-0 (3-0 MIVA) record. The Lakers fall to 1-7 (1-3 MIVA) with the loss.
In the victory, 13 different Ball State players saw action, with nine recording at least one kill. Evan Berg (Bristol, Wis./Central H.S.) paced the Ball State offense with nine kills, while recording a .400 (
Patrick Durbin (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) also turned in a solid offensive night, recording seven kills, while tying for match-high honors with eight digs. Durbin scored a match-best three service aces, while claming three block assists and two set assists.
The opening game saw the teams trade the first two points and play to a stalemate through the first seven points. With the scored tied at 7-7, Matt McCarthy (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South H.S.) found the hardwood floor for BSU, sparking an 11-6 run to push the Cardinals ahead 18-13.
The Lakers would manage to whittle the Cardinals' advantage to one, 21-20, and remain only one behind at the 24-23 mark. BSU would respond with a 4-0 run to pull ahead 28-23. After two Mercyhurst points, Berg would answer with a kill to give BSU game point at 29-25.
Two more Lakers' points would force BSU head coach Joel Walton to call timeout at 29-27. The timeout turned out to be well spent, as Mercyhurst's Nate Keegan followed with a service error to give the Cardinals the game at 30-27.
In the second stanza, the visitors from Erie, Pennsylvania, would jump out to a 4-1 advantage, only to see the Cardinals tie the set at 4-4. The teams would play to a 6-6 tie, before a Lakers attack error gave Ball State the edge at 7-6. Berg and Todd Chamberlain (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) would follow with back-to-back kills, putting the Cardinals up by three-points.
Mercyhurst would manage to score the next two points, drawing within one point at 9-8 and again at 10-9. However Ball State would produce a 3-0 run to pull ahead by four points at 13-9. The Lakers would get no closer than three points the rest of the game, as the Cardinals won the set by nine at 30-21. Overall, the Cardinals' defense limited Mercyhurst to a -.125 (
The third set turned out to be the most contested of the evening, with 19 ties and four lead changes. Neither team was able to put together a long rally in the set, as the largest lead by either squad was two points.
Mercyhurst looked poised to force a fourth game, holding a 28-27 edge late in the game, but a Durbin kill would shift the momentum to the Cardinals side. The Lakers' head coach Ryan Patton followed by calling a timeout with the score tied at 28. Unlike the BSU timeout late in the first game, this one backfired for the visiting team as the Cardinals responded with back-to-back blocks to win the game 30-28 and the match 3-0.
Ryan Clarke (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway South H.S.) was the common factor at the next for both stuffs, while Dave Carlson (Coon Rapid, Minn./Coon Rapids H.S.) assisted on the first and Durbin chipped in on the match-winner.
Clarke would finish the night with a match-high four block assists despite playing in just the third game, which also tied the blocking output for Mercyhurst. He would also add four kills on five swings and a dig.
Carlson would tie for match-high honors with 33 assists, while recording five digs, two kills, a pair of blocks and a service ace.
McCarthy tallied five kills in the match, along with a pair of block assists and a service ace. Chamberlain would conclude the contest with three kills, two digs and two block assists.
Rounding out BSU's scorers were Zoran Grabovac (Des Moines, Iowa/Hoover H.S.) with three kills, Nick Meyer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller H.S.) with two kills and Mark Termion (Winfield, Ill./Wheaton North H.S.) with one kill. Grabovac would also tally a dig and a block, while Meyer recorded two digs and a block.
Also factoring in the contest were Doug Willmann (St. Louis, Mo./Francis Howell North H.S.) with a block assists; Ian Peckler (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills H.S.) with four digs; Mark Rumschik (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park H.S.) and Ted Summers-Torres (San Diego, Calif./University of San Diego H.S.).
Despite Mercyhurst holding a 40-38 edge in kills, the Cardinals out-hit the Lakers .244 (38-17-86) to .132 (40-26-106). BSU also dominated at the net, recording nine total blocks to Mercyhurst's two.
Ball State would win the battle at the service line, recording six aces and 13 errors, to Mercyhurst's three aces and 18 errors. The Lakers would hold a slim 28-27 advantage in digs and a 40-36 edge in assists.
Mercyhurst's Chad Proudman paced all players with 16 kills in the contest, while Keegan tied for match-high honors with eight digs.
The Ball State men's volleyball team will take its 11-match winning streak north next weekend, playing a pivotal league contest at IPFW Friday (
