Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
0-1
Stanford
5-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford | 30 | 32 | 30 | 3 |
| Ball State | 20 | 30 | 22 | 0 |
Men?s Volleyball Swept By Stanford In Season Opener
January 18, 2009 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Despite a career-high tying 20 kills from senior Todd Chamberlain (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.), the 13th-ranked Ball State men's volleyball team suffered a 3-0 (30-20, 32-30, 30-22) setback to No. 4 Stanford Saturday night at Worthen Arena.
The match was played in front of a BSU men's volleyball Worthen Arena record 3,729 fans.
“I have to give a shout out to the students and Muncie community,” said BSU head coach Joel Walton. “I wish we could have given them a better show. We love playing at home. It really gives the guys energy and feeds the fire. I would have been interested to see what would have happened had we won game two and kept the energy going.”
After dropping the opening game of the season 30-20, the Cardinals quickly found themselves in a 6-2 hole in the second frame. However, a Stanford service error and a kill from sophomore J.D. Gasparovic (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville H.S.) energized BSU, as they rallied back to tie the score at 10.
A kill from sophomore Lee Meyer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller H.S.), followed by a block assist from junior Ethan Pheister (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) and sophomore transfer Andy Nelson (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls H.S.) gave BSU a two-point lead at the 12-10 mark.
After trading the lead several more times in the stanza, the Cardinals were able to pull ahead by three at 25-22. The visitors from California would not go away, eventually tying the frame at 26, before pulling ahead 28-27 on a kill from Brad Lawson.
Chamberlain answered with a kill of his own to tie the score at 28, while Meyer added a marker on the next play to give BSU its first set point at 29-28. A Spencer McLachlin kill knotted the score at 29, while a Stanford attack error gave BSU its second game point at 30-29.
BSU could not get the final point, however, as a block assist from Evan Romero and Garrett Werner and a pair of Ball State attack errors gave Stanford the 32-30 game two win.
“Game two was disappointing,” added Walton. “We had opportunities at the end, but we failed to get good swings on the ball.”
After the exciting second game, the Cardinals fell behind 7-2 early in the third game. While BSU was able to battle back within one point on several occasions, they were never able to get over the hump, as Stanford went on to win the game 30-22.
“Stanford has pretty exceptional ball control and they were able to make the plays when it counted tonight,” concluded Walton. “Our guys, who were playing their first match compared to six for Stanford, were trying to figure out who they are and how to play tonight. We have to go back to the chalkboard and figure out how to play better the next time around. Unfortunately, the competition is not getting any easier. So we are going to be tested.”
In addition to his career-high tying 20 kills, Chamberlain finished the night with a .410 (20-4-39) attack percentage and added three block assists and a dig.
Nelson was BSU's top blocker at the net, adding a match and career-high seven total blocks, two solo and five assists, in his first Division I match after playing club volleyball at Minnesota for the past two seasons. Nelson also scored four kills and a service ace.
Gasparovic ranked second on the BSU squad with seven kills, while adding four block assists and three digs. Pheister dished out 36 assists, in addition to three block assists and a team-high two service aces.
Billy Ebel (Lenexa, Kan./Bishop Miege H.S.) was BSU's top backcourt player, adding a career-high 10 digs in the loss.
Stanford turned in a balanced offensive performance, with Romero, Lawson and McLachlin tying for team-high honors with 11 kills. The Cardinal's Erik Shoji led all players with 13 digs on the night.
Overall, Stanford held a .314 (49-17-102) to .184 (41-22-103) attacking advantage in the victory despite being out-blocked 12.0 to 7.0. The Cardinal also posted 34 digs on the night, compared to 28 for BSU.
The Ball State men's volleyball team returns to action Friday, when it opens a two-match road swing against defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Penn State at 7 p.m. BSU will also face St. Francis Saturday at 7 p.m.
