Ball State University Athletics
No. 10 Men's Volleyball Hosts Quincy and No. 12 Ohio State This Weekend
February 22, 2006 | Men's Volleyball
Live Stats Link
Muncie, Ind. - - The No. 10 Ball State men's volleyball team will return to Worthen Arena this weekend for a pair of Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association matches, starting Friday vs. Quincy. On Saturday, the Cardinals will battle No. 12 Ohio State. Both matches are slated to start at
WCRD 91.3 FM will broadcast and webcast both matches, with Shane Wilkinson providing the play-by play and Zach Steinke taking care of the color commentary. Friday's broadcast vs. Quincy will be LIVE, while Saturday's match vs. Ohio State will be tape delayed until Sunday at Noon.
In addition, live stats will be available for both contests courtesy of Ball State Athletics Communications & Marketing.
BSU enters the weekend with a 12-1 (3-1 MIVA) record and are currently ranked 10th in the CSTV/AVCA Division I-II Men's Coaches Top 15 Poll. Last week, the Cardinals suffered their first loss of the season, falling at IPFW (1-3; 20-30, 33-35, 30-28, 24-30) Friday, before rebounding with a Saturday sweep at Carthage (3-0; 30-27, 30-23, 30-28).
Quincy enters the weekend with a 7-9 overall record, including a 1-4 MIVA mark. The Cardinals own a 23-2 advantage in the all-time series with the Hawks, including 10 straight wins. Of the 10 wins, nine were 3-0 sweeps, while one was a five-game victory giving the Cardinals a 30-2 edge in games.
Ohio State enters the weekend with an 11-3 (1-1 MIVA) record and are ranked 12th in the latest coaches' poll. Despite suffering losses in the last four matches vs. the Buckeyes, the Cardinals own a 92-75 edge in the all-time series. Ball State's last win over OSU was
As a team, Ball State enters the week with the best blocking defense in the league, rejecting 3.46 volleyballs per game. The Cardinals also rank second in opponent's hitting percentage (.154) and digs per game (11.81).
Offensively, BSU ranks first in aces per game (1.98) as well as third in hitting percentage (.298), kills per game (15.38) and assists per game (14.17).
Individually, Zoran Grabovac continues to pace the league with a 1.64 blocks-per-game average, which is the second-best average in the nation. Grabovac also ranks fifth in the league in hitting percentage (.412), 14th in points per game (3.41) and 18th in kills per game (2.43).
Nick Meyer remains in the top five in the MIVA in points per game, ranking third at 5.24. He also ranks third in kills (4.27), fifth in service aces (0.33), seventh in digs (2.18), seventh in blocks (1.21) and 16th in hitting percentage (.295).
Dave Carlson moved into the top spot in hitting percentage this week, scoring kills at a .500 rate of success, while ranking fourth in assists (12.21), sixth in aces (0.32), 10th in digs (1.97) and 19th in blocks (0.82).
Matt McCarthy continues to hold the No. 3 slot in aces (0.40), while ranking eighth in hitting percentage (.383), 10th in blocks (1.15) and 20th in points (3.08).
Patrick Durbin is eighth in points (3.82) and kills (3.16), 13th in blocks (0.92) and tied for 16th in digs (1.87).
Ian Peckler currently ranks second in digs per game (2.95), while Evan Berg is 14th at 1.92.
