Ball State University Athletics
Men's Volleyball Returns to Worthen Arena This Weekend
January 25, 2007 | Men's Volleyball
This Week in Ball State Men's Volleyball:
The Ball State men's volleyball team returns to Worthen Arena this weekend where it will play its first of three-straight home matches at 7:30 p.m. Friday versus the Milwaukee School of Engineering . . . The Cardinals also host NCAA Division III No. 1 Juniata Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Cardinals Struggle in First Road Trip:
After claiming a 30-24 victory in the first game of its two-match road swing last weekend, the Cardinals failed to win another, falling at No. 15 George Mason 1-3 (30-24, 21-30, 19-30, 28-30) Friday and at St. Francis 0-3 (22-30, 23-30, 29-31) Sunday.
Scouting Ball State:
Ball State enters the week with a 1-4 overall record after suffering losses in its last four outings . . . Nick Meyer currently paces the squad with a 4.53 kills-per-game average, while Matt McCarthy is second at 2.69 . . . McCarthy is BSU's top attacker by average, smashing 43 kills on 77 swings with just eight errors for a .455 rate of success . . . Todd Chamberlain, who ranks third in kills per game (2.62), has collected a team-best 14 total blocks for a 0.88 blocks-per-game average, while Ryan Clarke has the top average at 1.29 blocks per game . . . Jeff Schmitz was BSU's starting setter last week, posting a 12.38 assist-per-game average in the two matches . . . Ethan Pheister was BSU's setter for the first three matches, posing a 10.20 assist-per-game average.
Scouting The Milwaukee School of Engineering:
MSOE enters the week with a 2-3 overall record . . . Last week, the Raiders suffered a 0-3 (20-30, 19-30, 20-30) setback at No. 13 Loyola Tuesday and a 2-3 (28-30, 30-21, 26-30, 30-28, 12-15) loss to Newman Saturday . . . Michael Mocchi leads the MSOE attack with a 3.27 kills-per-game average, while Glenn Frazee is second at 2.29 . . . Enrique Gil paces the Raiders, blocking efforts with a 1.00 blocks-per-game average . . . In addition to leading the team in attacking, Mocchi is the team's top defender, averaging 1.91 digs-per-game, while Christopher Brandt is the team's main setter, averaging 6.94 assists per game.
Scouting NCAA Division III No. 1 Juniata:
Juniata will open its 2007 season Saturday when it battles the Cardinals . . . The three-time defending NCAA Division III champions enter the season as the No. 1-ranked team in Division III volleyball.
The All-Time Series:
Ball State has won its only two previous meetings with MSOE, with both wins coming at Worthen Arena . . . Last season, the Cardinals scored a 3-0 (30-19, 30-12, 30-22) victory over the Raiders on March 17 . . . The first-ever meeting was a 3-0 (30-11, 30-8, 30-21) BSU win on April 8, 2004 . . . Ball State is 4-2 all-time versus Juniata, despite losses in the last two meetings with the Eagles . . . In the most recent match, the Eagles posted a 3-0 (34-32, 30-28, 34-32) home-court win over the Cardinals on March 18, 2005 . . . The teams have only played once in Muncie, with Ball State scoring a 3-0 (15-9, 15-4, 15-6) victory on March 5, 1997 - - BSU's last win in the series.
Meyer Breaks Rally-Scoring Era Record:
After being limited to no kills on nine swings through the first two games last Sunday at St. Francis, BSU senior Nick Meyer connected for seven kills in the third set to break the BSU rally-scoring era career kills record with 1,037 . . . The previous record was 1,036 set by Jary Delgado (2001-04) . . . Meyer set up his assault on the record last Friday when he tallied a career-high 30 kills in BSU's loss at No. 15 George Mason.
More on 1,000:
Nick Meyer enters the week having scored 1,037 career kills to rank ninth 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: 8. Brian Hughes (1997-2000, 1,144); 7. Fernando De Armas (1984-87, 1,196); 6. Rodney Morgan (1988-91, 1,305); 5. Phil Eatherton (1994-97, 1,374) and 4. Greg Romano (1992-95, 1,603).
Meyer Collecting Double Figures:
After collecting a career-high 30 digs versus No. 15 George Mason, Nick Meyer raised his career total to 55 matches with double-figure kills . . . The total ranks eighth on BSU's all-time list . . . In addition, the effort marked the 16th time in his career that the 6-8 outside attacker has tallied 20-or-more kills in a match, which ranks fifth in BSU annals.
McCarthy Hits another Career-High at St. Francis:
A week after posting a career-high 13 kills versus St. Francis on Jan. 13, sophomore Matt McCarthy continued his solid play versus the Red Flash last Sunday (Jan. 21) by posting a career-high .833 (11-1-12) attack percentage in the contest.
BSU in the MIVA Rankings:
Nick Meyer enters the week ranked fourth in the league in both kills (4.53 per game) and points (5.12), while placing 11th in digs (1.65) . . . Matt McCarthy is eighth in hitting percentage (.455), 12th in kills (2.69) and 17th in points (3.28), while Todd Chamberlain is fourth in digs (2.12), 12th is points (3.47), 13th in kills (2.62) and 17th in blocks (0.88) . . . Ian Peckler is third in digs (2.38), while Ethan Pheister is fifth in assists (10.20), tied for ninth in aces (0.40) and 17th in digs (1.30) . . . As a team, the Cardinals rank first in digs (10.29), fourth in assists (13.18) and fifth in hitting percentage (.215), kills (13.94), blocks (2.41) and aces (1.35).
