Ball State University
George Mason
No. 12 George Mason Stuns No. 6 Men?s Volleyball, 3-1
April 06, 2008 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The No. 6 Ball State men's volleyball team saw its 11-match home winning streak come to a sudden halt Saturday evening with a 3-1 (33-31, 30-26, 26-30, 30-26) senior night setback to No. 12 George Mason at Worthen Arena.
In the loss, which dropped the Cardinals to 18-8 on the year, senior Patrick Durbin (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) paced Ball State with 23 kills, while adding five digs and four blocks.
Senior libero Ian Peckler (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills H.S.) scored nine digs in the contest, while senior middle attacker Justin Orr (Gladstone, Mo./Winnetonka H.S.) added an assist in his final regular-season home match.
“George Mason took away our middle offense tonight, and we could not get Marcus Imwalle on track to spread out their block,” said BSU head coach Joel Walton about tonight's match. “My credit goes to George Mason. They came in and did a great job.”
Hudson Bates was the Patriots leading attacker with 26 kills, while Kyle Gramit added 20 to help GMU improve to 17-7. The key to Mason's victory over the Cardinals came at the net, however, as the Patriots recorded 25 team blocks, compared to 13.5 for Ball State.
R.J. Goubeaux paced the visitors with a match-high 11 block assists, while three other Patriots recorded at least seven total blocks.
“Tonight's match needs to be a wake-up call four our guys,” added Walton. “We have played lackluster the last two weeks. Teams keep knocking on our door and we need to go, see who is there and answer the call. We need to start finding some solutions to get our aggressive approach back in these last few matches of the season.”
Despite playing in just three games, sophomore setter Ethan Pheister (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) paced the Cardinals with 10 digs, while dishing out 33 assists.
However, it was fellow sophomore setter Jeff Schmitz (Fenton, Mo./St. John Vianney H.S.) who helped spark a furious BSU comeback in the third game, as he rallied the Cardinals from down 16-10 to eventually win the set 30-26.
With all three seniors in the starting lineup for the first time this season, the Cardinals found themselves in an early 8-4 disadvantage in the opening set. George Mason held a five-point lead at the 21-16 mark on a block from Goubeaux and Mark Burik and remained ahead by three at 24-21.
However, Ball State found some momentum, as two kills and a pair of block assists from senior captain Durbin helped the hosts pull ahead for the first time in the match at 26-25. With the score deadlocked at 28, GMU's Goubeaux combined with Ryan Kwiatkowski on the block to gave his team the first of two game points. However service errors allowed BSU to stay alive as the score went to 30-30.
With the scored tied at 31-31, after a block from BSU's Pheister and Matt McCarthy (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South H.S.), a kill from Gramit and a Kwiatkowski service ace gave the visitors a 33-31 game one victory.
George Mason jumped out to an early 8-2 advantage in the second game, and never trailed, winning the set 30-26. After trailing by as many as 10 points, the Cardinals did manage to draw within two at 24-22, but the Patriots answered with a 4-1 run, before winning the game.
The visitors once again jumped ahead early in the third game, taking a 16-10 advantage before Schmitz entered the game for BSU. The sophomore helped the Cardinals rally off the next three points, and eventually tie the game at 23-23.
BSU took its first lead in the game at 26-25, after a block assist from freshmen Lee Meyer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller H.S.) and J.D. Gasparovic (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville H.S.) and a Patriots attack error. Kills from Todd Chamberlain (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) and McCarthy followed, while an attack error gave BSU game point at 29-25.
After a block from Gramit and Brandon McLaughlin stopped the BSU rally, an attack error from GMU gave the hosts a 30-26 game three win.
Ball State looked to carry over the momentum in the fourth game, as a Gasparovic kill and block assists (combined with Meyer) gave BSU a 2-0 lead. However, the Patriots answered with eight of the next 10 points and went on to win the game 30-26.
Overall, George Mason held a .239 (67-28-163) to .165 (63-37-158) attacking advantage in the contest, in addition to the huge edge in blocks.
The Ball State men's volleyball team returns to action Thursday evening when it battles No. 10 Ohio State for first place in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association at 7 p.m. in St. John Arena.
