Ball State University Athletics
Men's Volleyball Plays Pair of Road Matches This Weekend
January 16, 2007 | Men's Volleyball
This Week in Ball State Men's Volleyball:
Ball State will open the road portion of its 2007 schedule Friday, when the Cardinals look to snap a two-match losing streak with a 7 p.m. match at No. 15 George Mason . . . The Cardinals will also look to avenge last weekend's loss to St. Francis Sunday, with a 2 p.m. rematch versus the Red Flash.
Cardinals Post 1-2 Record In Opening Week:
After a season-opening 3-0 (30-18, 30-23, 30-18) sweep of Clarke last Tuesday, the Cardinals suffered back-to-back losses last weekend, falling 0-3 (28-30, 22-30, 22-30) to No. 8 Penn State Friday and 1-3 (28-30, 30-20, 27-30, 29-31) to St. Francis Saturday.
Scouting Ball State:
Senior outside attacker Nick Meyer currently paces the Ball State offense with a 4.00 kill-per-game average, after collecting 40 kills in BSU's three matches last week . . . Meyer, who connected for a .155 attack percentage, also logged 18 digs, five aces and five block assists last week . . . Junior libero Ian Peckler led the team defensively from the backcourt with 25 digs (2.50 digs-per-game), while sophomore outside attacker Todd Chamberlain was BSU's top blocker, logging nine total stuffs . . . Freshman Ethan Pheister guided the BSU offense to a .196 (136-66-358) attack percentage in his first action as a collegiate setter.
Scouting No. 15 George Mason:
The Patriots will officially open their 2007 season Friday when they host Ball State . . . Last season, George Mason tallied a 22-6 overall record and finished tied for first with Penn State in the EIVA regular-season standings with an 11-1 league mark . . . However, the Patriots enter the 2007 season without reigning EIVA Player of the Year Shaun Powell and last season's starting setter Bryan Newcomb, who both graduated.
Scouting St. Francis:
Fresh off a 3-1 victory over Ball State last Saturday, the Red Flash enter the week with a 2-1 overall record . . . Marc Honore leads the St. Francis attack with a 4.30 kills-per-game average, while Jordan Varee is second at 4.22 . . . Honore also paces the Red Flash's blocking efforts with a 2.30 blocks-per-game average . . . Zach Nanni is the team's top backcourt defender, averaging 2.20 digs-per-game, while Shane Conley sets the team to a .230 (139-66-317) attack percentage . . . SFU will host No. 12 Ohio State Friday at 7 p.m., before Sunday's rematch with the Cardinals.
The All-Time Series:
Despite holding a 34-20 advantage in the all-time series with George Mason, the Cardinals have dropped their last four meetings with the Patriots, including three road losses . . . BSU is 8-8 all-time in Fairfax, Va., despite having not posted a win there since April 9, 2000 - - four-straight matches . . . After Saturday's loss to St. Francis, the Cardinals hold a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series versus the Red Flash, including a 2-0 record in Lorreto, Pa.
Meyer Second to Reach 1,000 in Rally-Scoring Era:
With his 20th kill in Saturday's match versus St. Francis, senior Nick Meyer became just the second BSU player in the rally-scoring era (2001-present) to record 1,000 career kills . . . Jary Delgado (2001-04) holds the BSU rally scoring record with 1,036 kills . . . "Nick has been a great attacker for our program all four years he as been on the team," said head coach Joel Walton. "He is a hard worker and a model student-athlete. I am proud of this accomplishment for him and proud of his hard work as a leader for our program."
More on 1,000:
Nick Meyer enters the week having scored 1,000 career kills to rank 11th in the 44-year history of Men's Volleyball at Ball State . . . The all-time BSU career kills record is 2,041 set by Todd Reimer (1992-95) . . . The following are the five Cardinals ahead of Meyer on BSU's all-time career kills list: 10. Dainis Matison (1995-97 & 1999, 1,007); 9. Jary Delgado (2001-04, 1,036); 8. Brian Hughes (1997-2000, 1,144); 7. Fernando De Armas (1984-87, 1,196) and 6. Rodney Morgan (1988-91, 1,305).
Meyer Collecting Double Figures:
With double-figure kills in two of BSU's three matches last week, Nick Meyer raised his career total to 54 matches with double-figure kills . . . The total ranks eighth on BSU's all-time list . . . In addition, Meyer's 20-kill effort versus St. Francis marked the 15th time in his career that the 6-8 outside attacker has tallied 20-or-more kills in a match . . . That total ranks fifth in BSU annals.
Chamberlain Racking Up the Numbers:
After logging just 60 digs in 21 matches over his freshman campaign, sophomore Todd Chamberlain has turned up his backcourt play so far this season, logging 23 digs in three matches . . . In Saturday's match versus St. Francis, the 6-2 outside attacker tallied a career-best 10 digs to pace all BSU players . . . In addition to his backcourt play, Chamberlain leads all Ball State blockers with nine total blocks (two solo and seven assists) . . . If that were not enough, his 25 total kills - - including a team-best 15 versus No. 8 Penn State - - rank second only to Meyer.
McCarthy Smashed Career-High versus St. Francis:
After scoring just 10 kills in BSU's first two matches of the season, sophomore Matt McCarthy found his grove versus St. Francis, smashing a career-high 13 kills . . . In addition, he paced the Cardinals with a .550 (13-2-20) attack percentage in the match.
