Ball State University
Quincy vs. George Mason
No. 15 Men?s Volleyball Rallies Past No. 9 Pacific
March 25, 2007 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The No. 15 Ball State men's volleyball team rallied from two games down to upset No. 9 Pacific 3-2 (27-30, 20-30, 30-23, 30-24, 15-13) in the final match of the 2007 Don Shondell/Active Ankle Challenge Saturday night at Worthen Arena.
With the win, the Cardinals snap a five-match losing streak versus the Tigers and improve to 12-9 on the year. Pacific falls to 14-11 overall, after losing for just the second time in eight matches.
“After a disappointing showing in game two, I challenged our guys in the locker room to show up and play,” said head coach Joel Walton about tonight's match. “We came out with a lot more energy after the break and were really able to feed off a very vocal crowd.”
For the second-straight night, senior Nick Meyer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller H.S.) carried the Ball State offense, pacing all players with 26 kills, marking the sixth time this season he has logged 20-plus kills in a match.
Freshman setter Ethan Pheister (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) also turned in a solid night, quarterbacking the BSU comeback in the last three games by handing out a team-best 31 assists. He also led the Cardinals to a .224 (31-12-85) attack percentage in the final three frames.
“After our second game performance, we made some changes to the lineup that turned the tide for us,” said Walton. “I felt Ethan came in and did a great job guiding our offense in the final three games. Nick was able to ignite, and our defense and blocking took over.”
The Cardinals were able to claim the victory in Saturday's contest despite being out-hit .188 (71-40-165) to .159 (52-29-145) by the Tigers. Pacific also had four players log double-figure kills to BSU's one.
Defensively, three Cardinals tallied double-figure digs, as junior Ian Peckler (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills H.S.) and freshman Matt Sprague (Ballwin, Mo./Marquette H.S.) logged 11 each, and Meyer collected 10 for his fourth double-double of the 2007 campaign. Sprague's 11 digs were a career-high.
The opening set was the closest of the night, with 13 ties and three lead changes. After playing to a 25-25 stalemate, three-straight BSU miscues allowed Pacific to pull out to a 28-25 advantage. Back-to-back Pacific errors got the Cardinals within one point, at 28-27. However, a service error and a block by Pekka Seppanen and Simon Chen-Byerley ended the game 30-27 in favor of the guests.
After trading the first two points of the second game, the Tigers built a 10-6 advantage and never trailed, winning the game 30-20 on a kill from Dan Hammer.
In the third frame, the teams played to a 3-3 tie, before a Meyer service ace and a Pacific error put the Cardinals ahead for good at 5-3. BSU built a six-point advantage at the 17-11 mark on a kill from sophomore Matt McCarthy (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South H.S.), only to see the Tigers rally within one at 22-21.
McCarthy was able to break the Pacific momentum with a kill, while four straight Tiger errors and another Meyer ace pushed the score to 28-21. BSU went on to win the frame 30-23 on a kill from Meyer.
The fourth game saw the teams play to a 2-2 tie, before BSU senior Mark Rumschik (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park H.S.) ignited the Cardinals with back-to-back solo blocks. From there, the Cardinals pulled ahead by five points, at 9-4, and played to a 17-12 advantage. The Tigers answered back, rallying within two points at 23-21, before a service error, a McCarthy and Rumschik block assist, and a Rumschik kill forced the guest to call time out at 26-21.
After the minute break, Pheister and McCarthy added another block assist to extend the advantage to 27-21. McCarthy was not done there, adding a kill and a solo block to give BSU game point at 29-22. McCarthy ended the game three points later (30-24) with his second solo stuff of the frame.
In the fifth and final game, the Tigers jumped ahead 5-2 early and held an 8-4 edge at the court switch. Pacific maintained its four-point lead at the 10-6 mark, before a Meyer kill and back-to-back block assists from sophomore Justin Orr (Gladstone, Mo./Winnetonka H.S.) and Rumschik sparked a 5-0 BSU run to give the Cardinals an 11-10 lead.
After trading the next three points, a block assist from Pacific's Seppanen and Chen-Byerley gave the visitors a brief 13-12 advantage.
However, the Cardinals would not be denied their comeback, as McCarthy and Meyer smashed back-to-back kills setting up a match-winning attack error from Seppanen.
BSU's blockers would come up with a season-high tying nine solo blocks in the win, with McCarthy, Meyer, Rumschik and freshman Jeff Schmitz (Fenton, Mo./St. John Vianney H.S.) each scoring two and Sprague tallying one.
Also aiding in the Cardinals' victory were sophomores Ryan Clarke (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway South H.S.) and Mark Termion (Winfield, Ill./Wheaton North H.S.), as well as freshman Eric Schulte (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.).
In addition to out-hitting BSU, Pacific held a 56-to-47 advantage in digs in the contest, while BSU scored a slim 15-to-14 lead in total blocks, including seven in the fourth game. Both teams logged four service aces.
Seppanen scored a team-best 21 kills for Pacific, adding 11 digs for a double-double. The Tiger's Garrett Morales lead all players with 13 digs.
The Ball State men's volleyball team returns to action Friday night at 7:30 p.m., when Quincy returns to Worthen Arena to battle the Cardinals in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association action. BSU will also host Mercyhurst in league action Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.
In the opening match of the second day of the Don Shondell/Active Ankle Challenge, George Mason (7-7) posted a 3-0 (30-25, 30-18, 30-25) victory over Quincy (4-20).
