Men?s Volleyball Upsets No. 6 IPFW In Four Games

Muncie, Ind. - - The Ball State men's volleyball team turned its best overall performance of the season into a 3-1 (30-27, 30-24, 19-30, 30-16) upset of No. 6 IPFW Friday night at Worthen Arena.

With the win, the Cardinals remain atop the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association standings with a 3-0 league record and an 8-5 overall mark. The Mastodons drop to 9-2 (4-2 MIVA).

“Our guys kept the energy going from start to finish,” said head coach Joel Walton. “We took a team that came into the match hitting well over .300 and limited them to a .130 attack percentage with a smothering defense. We were also able to put together two really good games on offense.”

On the offensive side of the ball, Nick Meyer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller H.S.) and Mark Rumschik (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park H.S.) were the stars of the match for the Cardinals, with Meyer smashing 19 kills and Rumschik tying a career-high with 12 markers.

With his 19 kills, Meyer moved into eighth on BSU's all-time career kills list with 1,147.

“I was proud of the job Mark did tonight,” added Walton. “I also thought Nick did a great job of carrying the offense when needed. Overall, when I look through the box score, I can see where everyone on the team contributed in their position. Tonight was truly a team victory. Hopefully, we can use tonight's effort to build momentum for our upcoming matches.”

Defensively, three Cardinals collected double-figure digs, paced by Todd Chamberlain's (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) 12. Joining Chamberlain in double-figure digs were Ian Peckler (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills H.S.) and Jeff Schmitz (Fenton, Mo./St. John Vianney) with 10 apiece. Schmitz's 10 digs were a career-high.

In the opening set, the Cardinals fell behind 4-0 out of the gate, but managed to draw within one point at 5-4. However, a 5-1 Mastodons run would give the visitors a five-point lead at 10-5.

A 7-3 BSU run capped by a kill from Doug Willmann (St. Louis, Mo./Francis Howell North H.S.) would get the Cardinals within one point at 13-12. The Mastodons would maintain at least a one point advantage through the 24-22 mark, before a pair of Meyer kills followed by a Rumschik kill gave Ball State its first lead at 25-24.

After a kill from IPFW's Colin Lundeen knotted the game at 25, a Lundeen service error and a block assist from Rumschik and Matt McCarthy (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South H.S.) would force IPFW to call a timeout. Out of the break, Meyer would record one of his career-high tying five service aces, while Schmitz followed with a kill to give BSU game-point at 29-25. Following a pair of IPFW points, Meyer logged the game-winning kill at 30-27.

In the second stanza, the teams would battle to a 12-12 tie before a Rumschik kill and an IPFW attack error put the Cardinals ahead for good in the set at 14-12. The Mastodons were able to keep the score close however, trailing by only three points at 22-19, before drawing within one at 23-22.

Ball State would score four of the next five points on three Mastodons miscues and a block assist from McCarthy and Chamberlain to build a 27-23 lead. The teams traded the next two points, making the score 28-24, before Chamberlain and Ryan Clarke (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway South H.S.) combined on a block assist to give BSU game-point, while Chamberlain, Clarke and Meyer put up a game-winning wall at 30-24.

In the third game, the teams would play to a 15-15 tie, before a 4-2 IPFW run allowed the Mastodons to claim a 19-17 advantage. The visitors for Fort Wayne would close out the game, at 30-19, by scoring 11 of the final 13 points.

After the teams traded the first five points of the fourth game, Rumschik and Clarke would combine for a block assist that gave the Cardinals a permanent lead in the set. The Cardinals would go on to take a five-point advantage at 10-5 on a McCarthy kill, and a 10-point edge at 22-12 on an attack error from IPFW's C.J. Macias.

The Cardinals would cap the game at 30-16, and the match at 3-1 with another triple block, this time from McCarthy, Meyer and Rumschik.

McCarthy and Chamberlain would tie for team-high honors with six total blocks, while Rumschik and Clarke tallied four apiece, Meyer scored three and Schmitz added a pair.

Also factoring in the win for the Cardinals were Billy Ebel (Lenexa, Ka./Bishop Miege H.S.) and Matt Sprague (Ballwin, Mo./Marquette H.S.).

For the Mastodons, C.J. Macias scored a match-high 17 kills, while Lundeen paced all players with 13 digs and Josh Stewart scored a match-best 10 total blocks.

Overall, the Cardinals held a .185 (55-30-135) to .130 (49-31-138) advantage in attack percentage and were able to out-serve the Mastodons with eight aces compared to three. Ball State also held a decisive defensive advantage, logging 50 digs to IPFW's 39. The Mastodons were able to out-block the Cardinals 16.5 to 14.

The only glitch in tonight's win for Ball State was a power outage on campus, which knocked out both the television and radio broadcast of the victory.

The Ball State men's volleyball team looks to knock out its second ranked team of the weekend Saturday, when it hosts No. 11 Loyola 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