Ball State University Athletics
Men's Volleyball Suffers 3-1 Setback at No. 10 Loyola
March 24, 2006 | Men's Volleyball
Chicago, Ill. - - The Ball State men's volleyball team dropped a 1-3 (27-30, 29-31, 30-28, 19-30) decision to No. 10 Loyola Friday evening at Alumni Gym. With the loss, BSU falls to 15-5 (4-4 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association), while LU improves to 17-6 (7-1 MIVA).
Nick Meyer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller H.S.) tied for match-high honors with 21 kills, while recording four total blocks, four digs and a service ace.
Evan Berg (Bristol, Wis./Central H.S.) led the BSU defense with seven digs in the match, while making his first start as the team's libero this season.
The Cardinals opened the first set with a 5-0 run, only to have the host Ramblers charge back and tie the game at 6-6. From there, neither team was able to separate themselves as there were 16 total ties and three lead changes in the game. With the score tied 27-27, thanks to Loyola's 10th service error of the game, Loyola posted the final three points to win the game 30-27.
In the second game, BSU once again jumped out to an early advantage, only to see Loyola tie the score at 6-6. The teams would battle back-and-fourth to a 14-14 tie before the Ramblers rallied off four-straight points to pull ahead 18-14. The hosts would maintain a four-point advantage at the 22-18 mark, before the Cardinals rallied to tie the set at 24.
The Cardinals looked poised to win the game after a Todd Chamberlain (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) and Zoran Grabovac (Des Moines, Iowa/Hanover H.S.) gave BSU a 29-27 lead. Unfortunately, Loyola would rally off the final four points, winning the game 31-29.
The third game saw the Cardinals jump ahead by five points at the 8-3 mark and six points at 14-8, only to see Loyola tie the set at 15. The Ramblers would hold a brief two-point edge at 20-18, before the Cardinals regained the lead for good at 21-20 on a LU attack error. A kill from BSU's Matt McCarthy (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South H.S.) would give the Cardinals match point at 29-27 before the team traded service errors to end the game at 30-28.
After playing to a 2-2 tie in the second game, Loyola would take control of the set with a 7-1 run, pushing the score to 9-3. The Cardinals would get as close as three points, at 10-7, before a 5-0 runs pushed the LU advantage to eight points. The Ramblers would go on to win the game 30-19.
Patrick Durbin (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) added nine kills, six digs, three total blocks and an ace in the match, while Dave Carlson (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids H.S.) scored 45 assists, three total blocks, a service ace and a kill.
Grabovac finished the match with five kills, four blocks and a dig, while Chamberlain tallied six digs, four kills and two blocks.
McCarthy connected for seven kills on the night, while adding three blocks and two digs.
Also factoring in the match were Doug Willmann (St. Louis, Mo./Francis Howell North H.S.) with two kills and a block; Ian Peckler (Vernon Hills, Ill./Venron Hills H.S.) with a dig and Mark Rumschik (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park H.S.).
As a team, the Cardinals finished the match with a .235 (49-22-115) attack percentage, while Loyola hit for a .287 (68-29-136) rate of success. BSU held a 12.5 to 6 edge in total blocks, while the Ramblers held a
James Grunst paced the Loyola attack with 21 kills, while hitting for a .731 (
Ball State returns to action Saturday night with a
