Ball State University
IPFW
No. 15 Men?s Volleyball Swept At No. 10 IPFW
April 08, 2007 | Men's Volleyball
FT. WAYNE, Ind. - - Saturday's trip up I-69 was not kind for the No. 15 Ball State men's volleyball team, as it suffered an 0-3 (24-30, 25-30, 20-30) setback to No. 10 IPFW at the Hilliard Gates Sports Center.
With the loss, the Cardinals fall to 14-11 overall and 6-4 in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association action. IPFW improves to 17-7 (8-3 MIVA) with the victory.
Senior Nick Meyer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller H.S.) was the only Cardinals to record double-figure kills in the loss, chalking up 10. He also added six digs and a service ace.
Junior libero Ian Peckler (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills H.S.) paced all players with 10 digs, marking the fourth time in the last six matches he has collected double-figure digs.
The Mastodons came out firing in the opening set, recording the first four points and never looking back. The Cardinals followed with the next two points, on a Matt Sprague (Ballwin, Mo./Marquette H.S.) kill and an IPFW attack error, but could not get any closer, dropping the set 30-24.
In the second stanza, the teams battled back-and-forth to a 15-15 tie, before another 4-0 run gave the Mastodons a 19-15 lead. IPFW controlled the play from there, not letting the Cardinals get any closer than three points before winning the game by five at 30-25.
With the Cardinals holding a slim 10-8 lead in the third game, IFPW's C.J. Macias tallied a pair of kills to spark a 7-1 Mastodons run, giving the hosts a 15-11 advantage. Sprague would stop the run with his sixth and final kill of the night, but the Cardinals could not recover, eventually dropping the game 30-20.
Sophomore Matt McCarthy (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South H.S.) led the Cardinals at the net, collecting three blocks, while also finishing the match with four kills.
Senior Mark Rumschik (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park H.S.) and sophomore Ryan Clarke (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway South H.S.) each finished the night with five kills, while sophomore Todd Chamberlain (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) added a pair of markers.
Freshman Jeff Schmitz (Fenton, Mo./St. John Vianney H.S.) logged one kill to go along with a team-best 27 assists.
Also seeing action in the match for the Cardinals were: sophomore Mark Termion (Winfield, Ill./Wheaton North H.S.); freshman Ethan Pheister (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) with a pair of assists; and freshman Billy Ebel (Lenexa, Ka./Bishop Miege H.S.).
Overall, the Cardinals were out-hit .126 (33-21-95) to .320 (45-14-97) in the loss. IPFW also held a 33-to-27 advantage in digs and a 7-to-2 lead in aces. The Cardinals out-blocked the Mastodons 5-to-4.
Three Mastodons reached double-figure kills in the match, paced by Jason Yhost's 15.
The Ball State men's volleyball team returns to action Wednesday, when it travels to Romeoville, Ill., for a 7 p.m. (CT) league showdown with the Lewis Flyers.
