Ball State University
Rutgers-Newark
No. 15 Men?s Volleyball Tops Rutgers-Newark On Senior Night
April 15, 2007 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The No. 15 Ball State men's volleyball team celebrated senior night with a 3-0 (30-23, 30-22, 30-27) victory over Rutgers-Newark Saturday evening at Worthen Arena.
With the victory, the Cardinals end the 2007 regular season with a 17-11 overall record. The Cardinals will host Lewis next Saturday (April 21) at 7:30 p.m. to open the 2007 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament. The winner of the contest will advance to the semifinal round to face top seed Ohio State in Columbus on April 26.
In his last regular season home match, senior Nick Meyer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller H.S.) smashed a team-best 12 kills, moving his career kills total to 1,375. The total is the fifth-highest in the 44-year history of men's volleyball at Ball State.
Meyer also finished the match with four digs and a block assist, while pacing all players with three service aces.
“Nick has been our go-to player for the last four seasons,” said head coach Joel Walton. “He has been a steady player who we can count on to be a key contributor on a daily basis.”
Also playing in his last regular season home match was fellow senior Mark Rumschik (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park H.S.), who collected three kills, three digs and a block assist in the win.
“Mark is a great team leader and a hard worker,” continued Walton. “He has been a great role model for the team. Both Nick and Mark are great student-athletes. I can only hope to have leaders like them every year.”
While BSU's seniors were celebrating their final regular season home match, three first-year Cardinals also played an important part in the BSU victory.
Ethan Pheister (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) earned his second-straight start at setter, handing out 39 assists to guide the BSU offense to a .266 (43-18-94) hitting percentage. Pheister also turned in a solid performance at the net, tying for match-high honors with five total blocks, while scoring four digs and a kill.
Billy Ebel (Lenexa, Ka./Bishop Miege H.S.) scored a career-high five digs in the win, starting in the libero position for the Cardinals in the third frame. Ben Irwin (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove H.S.) added a career-high four block assists, while collecting a kill and a dig.
The Cardinals jumped out to a 3-1 lead early in the first set, as sophomore Justin Orr (Gladstone, Mo./Winnetonka H.S.) scored BSU's first two kills surrounding a service ace from fellow sophomore Todd Chamberlain (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.). However, a 7-1 Rutgers-Newark run gave the guests a short-lived 8-4 advantage.
Ball State managed to tie the game four points later, as a pair of kills from Matt McCarthy (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South H.S.) help spark a 4-0 BSU run. The Scarlet Raiders answered with a kill on the next play, before the Cardinals surged ahead by seven points at 23-16. BSU went on to win the game 30-23 on a Meyer service ace, which was set up by a McCarthy and Meyer block assist.
The second stanza started with the Cardinals pulling ahead 4-1, only to see the visitors take a 7-5 lead moments later. BSU regained the lead at 9-8 and played to a nine-point advantage at 28-19. A Rumschik kill gave the Cardinals game-point at 29-21, before a Rutgers-Newark service error ended the game at 30-22.
The third game was the closest of the evening, as the Cardinals substituted out its two seniors early in the frame to standing ovations from the Worthen Arena crowd. After trailing 13-10, a RNU service error and a five-point service run from Eric Schulte (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.), which included an ace, put the Cardinals ahead 16-12.
The Cardinals were able to pull ahead by as many as five points in the game, before reaching match-point at 29-24. The Scarlet Raiders tried to mount a comeback, scoring the next three points, but Mark Termion (Winfield, Ill./Wheaton North H.S.) ended the set at 30-27 for the Cardinals with his sixth kill of the game.
Junior libero Ian Peckler (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hill H.S.) paced all BSU players with seven digs in the victory, while Matt Sprague (Ballwin, Mo./Marquette H.S.) also saw action for the Cardinals.
Overall, BSU held a .266 to .153 (39-24-98) hitting advantage in the match, while holding a 29-28 lead in digs, a 12.5-11.5 edge in blocks and a 7-4 advantage in aces.
Rutgers-Newark's Eric Honsberger paced all players with 17 kills in the match, while tying Derek Wolfe for team-high honors with eight digs.
