Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
7-4 (3-0MIVA)
Loyola
7-5 (0-4MIVA)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loyola | 31 | 27 | 25 | 30 | 7 | 2 |
| Ball State | 29 | 30 | 30 | 23 | 15 | 3 |
Walton Earns 200th Win In MVB Victory Over Loyola
March 01, 2009 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - In its toughest match to date this season, the Ball State men's volleyball team posted a 3-2 (29-31, 30-27, 30-25, 23-30, 15-7) victory over No. 14 Loyola Saturday evening at Worthen Arena to give head coach Joel Walton his 200th career coaching victory.
Walton, who has guided the Cardinals to a 7-4 (3-0 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) record this season, pushed his career record to 200-108 (.649) with a pair of pivotal league victories over the weekend. With the victory, BSU pushed its current winning streak to six matches, while the team has also won seven of its last eight outings.
“I am just thankful for the support of my family,” said Walton when asked what the win total means to him. “Without the support of my wife, Jenni, and our children, Kaitlin and Bailey, none of this would be possible.”
In tonight's victory over the Ramblers (7-5/0-4 MIVA), the Cardinals used a season-high 19 total blocks to overcome a season-worst 25 service errors to earn the victory.
Overall, the Ball State defense limited Loyola to a .121 (60-41-157) hitting mark on the night, while the offense connected for a .226 (52-24-124) rate of success, including a .538 (7-0-13) mark in the final set.
“Tonight's match was a rollercoaster ride,” said Walton. “I was very disappointed with our serving tonight. Loyola struggled on offense all night long and our errors gave them too many opportunities to keep the match close. Luckily in the final game, we were able to get on track and dominate play.”
Todd Chamberlain (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) was the lone BSU player to record double-figure kills, tagging 10 on the night. Chamberlain fell just shy of his first career triple-double, adding a career-high nine block assists and eight digs to his stat line.
Matt Sprague (Ballwin, Mo./Marquette H.S.) was Ball State's next leading attacker with nine kills, followed by J.D. Gasparovic (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville H.S.), Marcus Imwalle (Maria Stein, Ohio/Marion Local H.S.) and Andy Nelson (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls H.S.) with seven apiece.
Loyola's Krisjanis Berzins was the match's top attacker, collecting 22 markers on the night, while Mike Bunting added 12 for the Ramblers.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Cardinals' Billy Ebel (Lenexa, Kan./Bishop Miege H.S.) paced all players with 14 digs, while Loyola's Michael Hutz added 13.
In addition to Chamberlain's nine blocks, Gasparovic also scored nine in the contest, while Nelson posted eight and Ethan Pheister (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) collected seven.
In the opening set, Ball State jumped out to an early 9-4 advantage, thanks in part to four Loyola service errors and some strong blocking. With the Cardinals maintaining a 14-10 lead, a Hutz kill and a pair of Mike Bunting service aces brought the guests within one point at 14-13.
Loyola tied the set at 17-all several plays later, while taking their first lead of the match at 18-17 on a kill from Matt Baleiko. After a Baleiko attack error tied the set back at 18, the teams played to a 28-28 deadlock.
A kill from Ball State's Eric Schulte (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) gave the Cardinals the first game point of the night at 29-28, only to see a service error and kills from Nick Lamoureux and Bunting give the Ramblers the frame at 31-29.
The second set saw the teams battle to a 6-6 tie before a Sprague kill and back-to-back Loyola attack errors gave BSU a three-point edge. Ball State maintained the three-point lead at the 21-18 mark, before going on a 5-1 run to extend the advantage to seven points at 26-19. During the run, Schulte tallied a kill and a block assists.
Loyola responded with a 6-1 run of its own to draw within two at 27-25, only to see another Schulte marker end their momentum. A service error gave BSU set point at 29-26, while Pheister provided the game-winning kill at 30-27.
After holding even through the first 14 serves in game three, the Cardinals started to pull away with the set as they built a 20-14 edge. After a Loyola timeout, the guests rattled off the next three points to climb within three at 20-17 and force a BSU break.
Nelson gave the Cardinals their momentum back after the timeout with a kill, while an attack error and block assist from Chamberlain and Nelson pushed the lead back to six at 23-17. From there, Ball State went on to win the game 30-25 on a Loyola service error, one of 26 for the Ramblers on the night.
The teams opened the fourth set by playing to a 5-5 draw, before back-to-back kills from George Kamberos helped spark a 5-0 Ramblers run. Ball State was able to battle back and tie the set at 19, before taking a brief 20-19 advantage on a Loyola attack error.
With Ball State trailing 23-21 after a Berzins kill, some strong serving from Baleiko, including two aces, helped the Ramblers build a 29-21 lead. Loyola went on to win the set 30-23 on a Berzins kill.
While Berzins started the final set with a kill, it was the only lead the Ramblers would have in the frame, as kills from Imwalle and Sprague, as well as a Chamberlain and Gasparovic block assists helped Ball State build an 4-1 advantage.
The Cardinals took an 8-3 advantage into the court switch behind a very vocal 1,377 fans at Worthen Arena, while holding a three-point lead at the 10-7 mark after kills from Loyola's Berzins and Steve Thomas. Those were the last points the visitors from Chicago scored, as BSU rattled off the final five points capped by a Sprague kill at 15-7.
The Ball State men's volleyball team will now embark on a six-match road swing, starting with a Thursday MIVA showdown at Quincy which is set for 7 p.m. (CT).
