Ball State University
St. Francis
Men?s Volleyball Rallies Past St. Francis
January 19, 2008 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - After dropping the first two games, the Ball State men's volleyball team rallied past St. Francis for a thrilling 3-2 (26-30, 26-30, 30-21, 30-26, 15-13) victory Saturday night at Worthen Arena.
After a sup-par offensive effort in the first two sets, the Cardinals (2-5) rebounded to hit .552 (17-1-29) in the third game behind sophomore setter Ethan Pheister (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.), who also guided BSU to a .524 (12-1-21) rate of success in the deciding fifth frame.
“Tonight's match was a rollercoaster,” said Ball State head coach Joel Walton. “I thought we passed well early in the match, but we could not get our offense in sync. After Ethan came in late in the second game, our hitters settled down and we were able to take the pressure off our defense.”
In addition to the solid play from Pheister in the final three games, senior outside attacker Patrick Durbin (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) found his rhythm late in the match, connecting for 21 of his match-high 26 kills after the second game. Durbin finished the night hitting .426 (26-2-47), and added seven digs and tied for team-high honors with four blocks.
“Pat also played a huge role for us late in the match,” added Walton. “He gave us the leadership we needed to rally back after a rough start.”
Junior Matt McCarthy (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South H.S.) continued his solid play in the middle for the Cardinals, smashing 15 kills and adding a pair of blocks and an ace.
Freshman Marcus Imwalle (Maria Stein, Ohio/Marion Local H.S.) also collected double-digit kills for BSU, adding 12 on the night, to go along with three blocks and a pair of aces.
Jordan Varee paced the Red Flash (1-2) with 16 kills, while adding 14 digs for the match's only double-double. Mark Steele also posted double-digit kills for SFU with 11.
Senior libero Ian Peckler (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills H.S.) was Ball State's top defender in the match, logging 10 digs.
Statistically, the opening set was the closest of the night with 13 ties and seven lead changes. After the teams battled to a 25-25 tie, back-to-back BSU miscues and a pair of block assists from SFU's Pete Freyer and Nick Rivett gave the visitors game point at 29-25. An Imwalle kill stopped the run, but Freyer answered with the game-winning kill on the next play.
In the second game, the teams played to an 8-8 tie before another set of back-to-back Red Flash blocks - - this time by Shane Conley and Patrick McManamon - - helped spark a 5-1 SFU run, giving the visitors a 13-9 advantage.
The Cardinals managed to draw within one point on a couple of occasions, but could not charge past, dropping the set 30-26. Varee provided the game-winner for the Red Flash.
The third frame opened with a 5-5 tie, before Imwalle helped spark a 3-0 BSU run with a kill and an ace, surrounding a block assists from McCarthy and Pheister. The Cardinals eventually built a nine-point lead, at 29-20, off a Pheister kill, before winning the game 30-21 on a McCarthy marker.
Game four was another tight battle early on with the teams playing to a 15-15 deadlock. However, the Cardinals capitalized on three SFU miscues and a block assist from freshman J.D. Gasparovic (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville H.S.) and Imwalle to pull ahead 19-15.
A Red Flash service error gave BSU game-point at 29-25, before another kill from Pheister ended the game at 30-26.
The fifth game was an offensive battle, with the two teams combining for 20 kills on just two errors. St. Francis scored the first point, only to see the Cardinals take an 8-6 advantage into the court switch, following a kill from sophomore Matt Sprague (Ballwin, Mo./Marquette H.S.).
Ball State built a 10-7 lead on back-to-back kills from McCarthy and Durbin, but a service error and a McManamon kill cut the BSU advantage back to one. After McCarthy's 15th kill of the night, sophomore Billy Ebel (Lenexa, Ka./Bishop Miege H.S.) added a service ace to extend Ball State's lead back to three at 12-9.
Ball State reached match point at 14-11 off a SFU service error, before a Dave Reilly kill and a triple block from Conley, Freyer and Reilly force BSU to call time out at 14-13. Ball State's Imwalle responded out of the break, scoring the match-winning kill.
Overall, BSU finished the contest with a .250 (71-29-168) to .226 (60-30-133) attacking advantage, while recording six aces to SFU's three. The Red Flash held a 48-to-37 lead in figs and an 11.5-to-10 edge in team blocks.
The Ball State men's volleyball team returns to action Friday, Jan. 25, when it hosts Lewis in a pivotal Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association match at 7:30 p.m. in Worthen Arena.
