Ball State University Athletics
No. 14 Men's Volleyball Advances to MIVA Tournament Semifinals
April 22, 2006 | Men's Volleyball
Muncie, Ind. - - The No. 14 Ball State (21-6) men's volleyball team posted a commanding 3-0 (30-25, 30-23, 30-21) victory over visiting Mercyhurst (3-21) Saturday evening at Worthen Arena in quarterfinal action of the 2006 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament. With the win, the third-seeded Cardinals will battle No. 2 seed IPFW in the first semifinal match scheduled for
IPFW advanced to the semifinals with a 3-0 (30-21, 30-24, 30-10) quarterfinal victory over eighth-seed Carthage tonight. In the other semifinal match, Loyola will face the No. 4 seed Ohio State who tallied a 3-1 win over No. 5 seed Quincy in quarterfinal action. The MIVA Tournament Championship Match will be played at
In Saturday's victory over Mercyhurst - - the Cardinals third 3-0 sweep of the Lakers this season - - 13 different Cardinals saw action, with junior outside attacker Nick Meyer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller H.S.) tying for match-high honors with 10 kills despite playing in just two games. Meyer also recorded three service aces, four digs and a block assist.
Senior setter Dave Carlson (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids H.S.) collected his fourth double-double of the season dishing out a match-high 43 assists, while scoring a match-best 11 digs. Carlson also collected three kills and a block assist in the win.
The opening game was the closest of the night, with 15 ties and six total lead changes. The teams played even to the 17-17 mark before a Lakers' service error gave Ball State the lead for good at 18-17. Ball State would gain game-point at 29-25 on a block assists from Meyer and senior middle attacker Zoran Grabovac (Des Moines, Iowa/Hoover H.S.), before a service ace from junior outside attacker Patrick Durbin (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) sealed the game at 30-25.
In the second stanza, Mercyhurst took a 10-9 advantage early in the frame, before a six-point Ball State run, sparked by a kill from Carlson, put the Cardinals ahead for good at 15-10. Senior outside attacker Evan Berg (Bristol, Wis./Central H.S.) and freshman middle attacker Ryan Clarke (Baldwin, Mo./Parkway South H.S.) also scored a pair of kills in the run. The Lakers would manage to cut the gap to one point at 18-17 and again at 19-18, only to see back-to-back kills from Berg, an MU attack error and a Meyer kill push the BSU advantage back to five at 23-18.
With Mercyhurst within three points again at 23-20, a Lakers service error and back-to-back aces from Meyer would help BSU move ahead 27-20. Five points later, Meyer would give the Cardinals game-point with his 10th kill of the night, while freshman outside attacker Todd Chamberlain (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) capped the game with a solo block.
In the third and final game, the Cardinals would fall behind 3-1 early, only to have a Durbin kill tie the score at 6-6. After a block assists from Durbin and sophomore middle attacker Doug Willmann (St. Louis, Mo./Francis Howell North H.S.) gave BSU a 7-6 advantage, freshman middle attacker Matt McCarthy (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville North H.S.) followed with three-straight service aces to set the tone for the rest of the game.
Mercyhurst would get no closer than three points the remainder of the frame as the Cardinals cruised to a 30-21 victory, capped by Durbin's ninth kill of the match. Willmann would finish the third set with six kills and a .714 attack percentage, while McCarthy added three kills to his three service aces.
For the match, nine of BSU's 13 players recorded at least two kills paced by Meyer's 10 and Durbin's nine. Durbin would also score six digs, two aces and a block assists.
Berg tallied eight kills and five digs in the victory, while Chamberlain added five kills, four digs, a pair of blocks and an ace.
Willmann concluded the contest with six kills and two blocks, while McCarthy scored three kills, three aces, two digs and a block assists.
Clarke would tally four kills, a dig and a block assists, while Grabovac scored two kills, a dig and a block assists.
Junior outside attacker Mark Rumshick (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park H.S.) also saw action in the win, scoring three kills, two digs and an assists.
Rounding our the Cardinals contributors were sophomore libero Ian Peckler (Mt. Vernon, Ill./Mt. Vernon H.S.) with four digs and an assists; Ted Summers-Torres (San Diego, Calif./University of San Diego H.S.) and Carlos Ramos (El Dorado, Puerto Rico/Florida Air Academy).
As a team, Ball State recorded a .243 (53-25-115) attack percentage on the night, while holding Mercyhurst to a .162 (32-16-99) rate of success. The Cardinals also won the battle in digs (40 to 29), service aces (9 to 2) and blocks (6 to 4).
Nate Keegan and Tim Wagner each collected 10 kills for the Lakers to tie for match-high honors. Jordan Puerson recorded a team-best nine, while Dan Kick added 26 assists.
