Ball State University
Lewis
Men?s Volleyball Tops Lewis In MIVA Thriller
January 26, 2008 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The come-back kids struck again Friday night, as the Ball State men's volleyball team rallied from two games down to post a thrilling 3-2 (17-30, 27-30, 30-28, 30-25, 15-13) victory over league-foe Lewis at Worthen Arena.
With the win, the Cardinals improve to 2-1 in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association play and raise their overall record to 3-5. The Flyers fall to 3-3 (0-1 MIVA) with the loss.
“We came out tentative and scared,” said Ball State head coach Joel Walton when asked about his team's slow start. “However, we did not give up. We were able to fight back, gain the momentum and carry it through the final three games.”
While senior Patrick Durbin (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) paced the Ball State offense with 17 kills, it was the play of sophomore Eric Schulte (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) that helped lift BSU to victory.
Schulte, who came off the bench in the second game, finished the contest with 10 kills and nine digs. His most important tally came at the end of the contest, when his 10th and final kill completed the match and the Cardinals' comeback.
“Overall, I thought we got some really nice contributions off our bench,” continued Walton. “We put Eric into the match to bolster out block and he responded by having a great match. I also thought Matt Sprague, J.D. Gasparovic and Billy Ebel made large contributions from off the bench.”
“Tonight's win really helps us in the MIVA race. I have a lot of respect for Lewis. They came out and played a tough, scrappy match.”
In addition to double-figure kills from Durbin and Schulte, juniors Matt McCarthy (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South) and Todd Chamberlain (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) recorded 15 and 11 markers, respectively.
McCarthy continued his hot hitting, a connecting for a .650 (15-2-20) rate of success, while also leading the Cardinals with six total blocks.
Durbin added 10 digs to his stat line for his first double-double of the season, while senior Ian Peckler (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills H.S.) collected a team-high 12 digs.
Sophomore setter Ethan Pheister (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) guided the Ball State offense to a .300 (71-26-150) attack percentage, while dishing out a career-best 61 assists. Pheister also logged six kills, hit .857 (6-0-7), posted eight digs and collected three total blocks.
Despite trading the first two points of the opening set, the Cardinals found themselves trailing by seven points at the 10-3 mark. BSU could not recover in the frame, eventually losing 30-17.
Ball State found itself in another early hole in the second game, trailing by six early at 8-2. The Flyers' lead remained six, at 17-11, before a kill from J.D. Gasparovic (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville H.S.) helped spark an 8-2 BSU run which tied the game at 19.
Schulte also came up huge in the rally, scoring a pair of kills - - including the game-tying marker - - while serving the final four points of the run. BSU eventually pulled ahead 21-20 on back-to-back kills from Chamberlain and McCarthy.
Lewis's Jared Dayton - - who finished the night with a match-best 21 kills - - tied the game at 21-21, as the teams played to a 27-27 deadlock. Unfortunately, the Flyers rallied off the final three points to take a two-game edge into the long break.
The Flyers looked to have the advantage again early in the third frame, pulling ahead 7-3, only to see BSU respond and tie the game at 9-9 on a McCarthy service ace - - one of his match-high three on the night.
Chamberlain followed with a kill, as the Cardinals went on a 15-7 run to pull ahead by eight at 24-16. Dayton and Mike Iandolo did not let the Flyers go down without a fight, as the visitors from Romeoville, Ill., managed to rally off the next 11 points to take a 27-24 lead. During the run, Dayton tallied five kills and a solo block, while Iandolo served 10-straight Flyers' points.
Perhaps the biggest play of the night followed for the Cardinals, as Schulte ended the rally with a pivotal kill. Chamberlain kept the rally going with back-to-back service aces and Durbin gave BSU the lead again at 28-27 with another important kill.
Lewis' Alex Vigansky tied the set at 28-28 with one of his 13 kills on the night, before an attack error and a kill from Durbin ended the game at 30-28 in favor of the Cardinals.
In the fourth game, Ball State found itself trailing 12-10 after seven ties and three lead changes. However, back-to-back kills from Durbin and McCarthy and another solid service effort, this time from Gasparovic, gave Ball State a 14-12 advantage.
The Cardinals did not trail the rest of the game, and pulled ahead 27-25 before Pheister sparked the BSU faithful with a kill making the score 28-25. Pheister was not finished, as after a Lewis attack error set up game-point, Pheister recorded a game-winning solo block off a Dayton attack.
Much like the match, the final game was not easy for the Cardinals, as they found themselves trailing 5-1 early in the game. BSU responded with a 7-3 run, tying the set at 8-8 on a Chamberlain kill.
BSU took its first lead at 10-9 off a Chamberlain and Gasparovic block, and pulled ahead by two at 12-10 on a block from Durbin and Gasparovic. After a 2-0 Lewis run tied the set at 12-12, the teams traded the next two points to push the score to 13-13.
The Flyers looked poised to retake the lead, but some solid defensive play from the Cardinals set up one of the hardest kills of the night from McCarthy, as he smashed the ball into the middle of the Lewis defense to give BSU match-point at 14-13.
Schulte followed by smashing the game and match-winning kill off a dig from McCarthy and a set from Durbin.
Overall, five Flyers finished the night with double-figure kills, while four Cardinals reached double-digits.
After a slow first two games, the Ball State offense ended the night with a .300 to .269 (76-29-175) attacking advantage. The Cardinals were also able to out-dig the Flyers 56-to-46.
Lewis held a 20-to-13.5 lead in digs, while recording eight aces to BSU's five.
The Flyers' Nick Perakes paced all players with 13 digs.
The Ball State men's volleyball team returns to action Saturday night with a 7:30 p.m. non-conference showdown versus the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Admission to the match is FREE!!!
