Ball State University
vs. UCLA
Men?s Volleyball's Upset Bid Of No. 3 UCLA Falls Short
January 03, 2008 | Men's Volleyball
HONOLULU, HI - - The Ball State men's volleyball team saw its bid at upsetting No. 3 UCLA come up short Thursday evening, as it dropped a 3-1 (30-23, 30-27, 26-30, 30-22) decision to the Bruins in the opening match of the 2008 Outrigger Hotels Invitational, hosted by Hawaii at the Stan Sherriff Center.
“We did a decent job in a lot of categories tonight,” said Ball State head coach Joel Walton. “However, we struggled with our serving and passing at times throughout the match. When we were successful in those areas, we were able to give our offense and defense a chance to work.”
Ball State redshirt freshman Marcus Imwalle (Maria Stein, Ohio) made an immediate impact in his collegiate debut, scoring the Cardinals' first seven kills on the way to a team-best 17 markers. Imwalle, who finished the match with a .387 (17-5-31) attack percentage, also collected five digs and a pair of block assists.
After trading the first two points of the match, Imwalle's first career kill gave the Cardinals a 2-1 advantage in the opening set. BSU remained within one point at the 7-6 mark, only to see UCLA rally off 10 of the next 14 points to build a 17-10 lead.
Trailing 26-15, the Cardinals scored the next four points, capped by freshman Lee Meyer's (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller H.S.) first career kill, to force the Bruins to call their first time out. However, UCLA went on to win the game 30-27.
The second frame was a back-and-forth battle with 12 ties and five lead changes. After the teams played to an 18-18 tie, Ball State would take a 20-18 advantage on a block assist from junior Matt McCarthy (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South H.S.) and sophomore Ethan Pheister (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) followed by an Imwalle kill. Unfortunately, the Bruins rallied off the next four points and never trailed again, winning the set 30-27.
The third game saw kills from sophomore Matt Sprague (Ballwin, Mo./Marquette H.S.) and Imwalle give the Cardinals a 2-1 edge. After the teams played to a 12-12 tie, McCarthy led BSU into the media time out with a kill and a pair of blocks.
BSU did not trail the rest of the game, pulling ahead by five points at 21-16 on another Sprague kill. Ball State reached game-point at 29-24 off McCarthy's second kill of the frame, before a UCLA service error gave the Cardinals the game at 30-26.
In the forth stanza, Imwalle and Sprague once again gave Ball State an early 2-1 advantage, but UCLA was able to rally back and score four of the next five points to pull ahead 5-3. The Bruins would not trail the rest of the way, winning the game 30-22.
Meyer, who was also playing in his first collegiate match for Ball State, ranked second on the team with 12 kills, while adding six digs.
Sprague and McCarthy each chipped in nine kills, while McCarthy paced all players with seven total blocks and Sprague added five digs.
Senior libero Ian Peckler (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills H.S.) paced the Cardinals with eight digs, while Pheister dished out 42 assists.
UCLA's Garrett Muagututia paced all players with 21 kills in the contest, falling one shy of a career-high, while Tony Ker collected a match-best 18 digs for the Bruins.
Overall, the Bruins would hold a .286 (60-24-126) to .205 (49-25-117) attacking edge in the contest. UCLA also held a 9-to-2 edge in aces and a 39-to-35 lead in digs.
The Cardinals were able out win the battle at the net, scoring 10 total blocks to the Bruins 9.5.
Ball State will continue play in the 2008 Outrigger Hotels Invitational Friday night, with a 7 p.m. showdown versus tournament host Hawaii.
