Men?s Volleyball Posts 3-0 Sweep of Juniata

Muncie, Ind. - - The Ball State (3-4) men's volleyball team captured its second-straight win Saturday night, scoring a 3-0 (30-20, 30-23, 30-28) victory over visiting Juniata (0-1) at Worthen Arena.

“We played a good overall match tonight,” said head coach Joel Walton. “We were able to hit a lot of the goals we set for ourselves entering the season. In addition, our passing was strong, which allowed us to get into a great offensive rhythm.”

In the match, three Cardinals were able to record double-figure kills as the offense hit above .400 for the second-straight night at .406 (53-12-101).

Senior Nick Meyer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller H.S.) led the offensive barrage with 16 kills on the evening, while sophomore Todd Chamberlain (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) added 13 and sophomore Matt McCarthy (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South H.S.) smashed 10.

In the opening set, the Eagles would hold a two-point advantage at the 12-10 mark before a kill from Meyer sparked a five-point BSU run that put the Cardinals ahead for good in the set. Meyer would account for four of the five points in the rally, scoring three kills and combining with McCarthy for a block assists.

Juniata would remain within two points at the 20-18 mark, only to see BSU rally off the next six points, thanks to the strong serving of Chamberlain and two solo blocks and a block assists from sophomore Ryan Clarke (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway South H.S.). The Cardinals would eventually win the game 30-20.

The second stanza would be played to a 3-3 tie, before a 7-2 BSU run put the Cardinals ahead 10-5. The Eagles would cut the Ball State lead to two points, at 11-9, before back-to-back Clarke kills stopped Juniata's momentum. The visitors from Huntingdon, Pa., would get no closer than three points the rest of the way, as the Cardinals went on to win the game 30-23.

In the third game, it was Juniata who would lead much of the way, pulling ahead by as many as four points early and maintaining a three-point edge at 15-12. BSU would rally off the next three points, to tie the game at 15 all. The Cardinals would not gain the advantage, however, until kills from Meyer and McCarthy, plus a Juniata attack error pushed the score to 26-24.

The visiting Eagles would eventually tie the score at 27-27, and keep the game deadlocked at 28-28. Ball State would not be denied its second-straight sweep of the young season however, as a block assist from McCarthy and freshman Jeff Schmitz (Fenton, Mo./St. John Vianney) gave BSU match point, while a kill from freshman Matt Sprague (Ballwin, Mo./Marquette H.S.) ended the game at 30-28.

McCarthy, who recorded double-figure kills for the third time this season, continued his hot hitting streak, finishing the night with a match-best .769 (10-0-13) mark, which raised his season average to a team-best .530 (61-8-100). McCarthy would also log four block assists on the night, while adding a dig.

Freshman setter Schmitz ended the night with a match-best 42 helpers, while logging six digs, a kill and a block assists.

Meyer would add five block assists and a dig to his match-best 16 kills, while Chamberlain tallied seven digs along with his 13 kills.

Junior libero Ian Peckler (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills H.S.) would pace all players with 10 digs.

Clarke would finish the contest with seven kills and a .583 (7-0-12) attack percentage, while tying Meyer for match-high honors with five total blocks.

Sprague would add tally BSU's lone service ace of the night, while collecting six kills, four digs and two blocks.

Senior Mark Rumschik (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park H.S.) and freshman Billy Ebel (Lenexa, Ka./Bishop Miege H.S.) would also see action on the night, with Rumschik providing some crucial serves late in the third game.

Juniata was paced offensively by Nate Ocasio, who logged 15 kills on the night, while Jeremy Barndt added 10 markers. Barndt was also one of three Eagles to tie for team-high honors with six digs, joining Matt Werle and Casey Dale.

As a team, BSU out-hit the Eagles .406 to .240 (47-22-104) in the contest and hold a 9.5-to-3 advantage in total blocks. Both teams logged 32 digs, while Juniata held a 4-to-1 advantage in service aces.

The Ball State men's volleyball team will return to Worthen Arena Friday night, when it opens Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association action versus Lewis at 7:30 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Todd Chamberlain

Ryan Clarke

Billy Ebel

Matt McCarthy

Nick Meyer

Ian Peckler

Mark Rumschik

Jeff Schmitz

Matt Sprague