Ball State University Athletics
Men's Volleyball Visits No. 10 Loyola and Quincy This Weekend
March 21, 2006 | Men's Volleyball
The Cardinals enter the week with a 15-4 overall record, including a 4-3 slate in the MIVA's Shondell/Dunlap division. BSU is 7-2 on the road, including a 1-1 league road mark. Last week, Ball State posted a 3-0 (30-19, 30-12, 30-22) non-conference win over the Milwaukee School of Engineering Friday, before suffering a 1-3 (20-30, 26-30, 30-27, 25-30) league setback to No. 13 IPFW Saturday.
No. 10 Loyola enters the week with a 16-6 overall record, including a 6-1 slate in the MIVA's Shondell/Dunlap division. The Ramblers only league loss came in the form of a 0-3 (14-30, 24-30, 24-30) setback to then-No. 9 Ball State (Feb 10) at Worthen Arena. Last week, LU posted a 3-0 (30-14, 30-18, 30-22) victory over Carthage Monday, before dropping a pair of matches - - 1-3 (34-32, 21-30, 25-30, 24-30) Friday and 0-3 (28-30, 19-30, 31-33) Saturday - - at No. 3 Hawaii.
With the 3-0 win earlier in the year, the Cardinals maintain a slim 15-13 advantage in the all-time series with Loyola. However, Loyola has won the last seven meetings between the two clubs in Chicago and hold a 10-3 edge in matches played on its home court. BSU's last win at Loyola came in the form of a 3-1 (12-15, 17-15, 15-10, 15-13) victory on April 4, 1999.
Quincy enters the week with an 11-13 overall record, including a 3-6 slate in the MIVA's Shondell/Dunlap division. The record includes a 0-3 (25-30, 22-30, 22-30) loss to then-No. 10 Ball State (Feb. 24) at Worthen Arena. Last weekend, the Hawks posted a pair of league road wins at Mercyhurst, scoring a 3-1 (30-19, 20-30, 30-25, 30-27) win Saturday and a 3-0 (30-22, 30-18, 30-19) victory Sunday.
Including the 3-0 win earlier in the year, the Cardinals maintain a 24-2 advantage in the all-time series with Quincy. BSU has won the last 11 matches between the two clubs and 33 of the last 35 games, including 10 sweeps. The Cardinals are 10-1 all-time in Quincy, with the only loss - - 1-3 (31-33, 30-24, 20-30, 26-30) - - coming March 3, 2001.
As a team, the Cardinals remain the best defensive team in the MIVA statistically, topping the league in opponents hitting percentage (.175) and digs (12.39), while ranking second in blocks (3.10). Offensively, the Cardinals hold the No. 1 spot in service aces (1.64), are second in kills (14.38) and assists (14.38) and are third in hitting percentage (.280).
Individually, Ian Peckler continues to pace the league in digs per game at 3.11, while Nick Meyer ranks second in the MIVA in kills (4.43) and third in points (5.24) per game. Zoran Grabovac ranks third in blocks (1.47), while Dave Carlson holds the No. 2 slot in assists (12.78) and the No. 4 slot in aces (0.33) per game.
