Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
2-4
Rutgers-Newark
2-4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rutgers-Newark | 23 | 23 | 21 | 0 |
| Ball State | 30 | 30 | 30 | 3 |
No. 13 Men?s Volleyball Defeats Rutgers-Newark
February 07, 2009 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Behind a career-high tying 17 kills from sophomore Marcus Imwalle (Maria Stein, Ohio/Marion Local H.S.), the 13th-ranked Ball State men's volleyball team posted a 3-0 (30-23, 30-23, 30-21) sweep of Rutgers-Newark Friday evening at Worthen Arena.
With the victory, the 999th in program history, the Cardinals raise their record to 2-4 on the young year. The Scarlet Raiders also ended the night with a 2-4 overall mark after the loss.
“I am pleased with how our guys rebounded after last night's performance,” said BSU head coach Joel Walton. “I also thought Marcus played a great match for use tonight. He gave us some solid swings and posted big kills when we needed them.”
Imwalle, who started his career with 17 kills in his collegiate debut versus then-No. 3 UCLA last season, carried the offensive load of the Cardinals with his match-best 17 markers. He also hit for a .407 (17-6-27) rate of success while adding eight digs, three blocks and a pair of service aces.
Overall, the Cardinals finished the match with a season-high .390 (45-13-82) attack percentage, while limiting the guests to a .120 (34-22-100) rate of success. BSU also doubled up RNU in the back court, racking up 35 digs to the Scarlet Raiders' 17. At the net, Ball State held a 10 to seven edge in team blocks.
In addition to Imwalle, junior Matt Sprague (Ballwin, Mo./Marquette H.S.) and senior Todd Chamberlain (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) also had solid offensive nights for BSU, racking up seven kills apiece. Overall, nine different Cardinals tallied at least one kill in the match.
Defensively, BSU junior libero Billy Ebel (Lenexa, Kan./Bishop Miege H.S.) paced all players with 10 digs, while junior setter Ethan Pheister (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) guided Ball State to its season-best attacking effort which included a .560 (16-2-25) effort in the final frame.
“We had our most consistent offensive performance in game three,” added Walton. “I think we did struggle at the beginning of games, especially in game one. However, once our guys got into the game plan and gained their focus, we were able to take over.”
On the Rutgers-Newark side of the net, Nate Scott tallied a team-high 11 kills, while tying for match-high honors with four block assists. Three RNU players finished the match with four digs each.
In the opening set it was the guests who dominated play early, jumping out to a 7-3 advantage, thanks in part to a pair of kills from Derek Wolfe. However, BSU responded with six of the next eight points to tie the set at nine. After playing to a 10-10 deadlock, three kills from Sprague over the next six points helped the hosts pull out to a 15-11 advantage.
With Ball State holding a 17-14 advantage, senior Matt McCarthy (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South H.S.) combined with Chamberlain for back-to-back blocks, while adding a solo stuff on the next play to give Ball State a 20-14 lead. From there, BSU cruised to a 30-23 set victory which was capped by an Imwalle kill.
Game two opened with Ball State surging to a 3-1 lead, before Rutgers-Newark battled back to take a 6-5 advantage. The teams played to a 12-12 tie, before the Cardinals took control of the set at 17-13 in a run that including a service ace from sophomore Andy Nelson (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls H.S.) and a pair of Chamberlain kills.
The Scarlet Raiders would get no closer the rest of the game, as a kill from junior Ben Irwin (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove H.S.) gave BSU game point at 29-22. After a kill from RNU's Grant Metheny, an attack error gave Ball State the 30-23 second game win.
In the final frame, the teams battled to another 12-12 tie before back-to-back RNU miscues and an Imwalle service ace gave Ball State a 15-12 edge. From there, the Cardinals pulled out to a 27-19 advantage and used back-to-back kills from Irwin to reach match point at 29-19. BSU went on to win the contest on a block assist from Irwin and Pheister at 30-21.
The Ball State men's volleyball returns to the Worthen Arena court Friday (Feb. 13) when it hosts the Milwaukee School of Engineering in a 7:30 p.m. non-conference showdown. The match also marks BSU's first attempt at reaching 1,000 wins in program history, as tonight's victory pushed the program's all-time record to 999-393-8.
