Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
10-6 (4-2MIVA)
Lewis
13-5 (4-1MIVA)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball State | 23 | 30 | 30 | 25 | 17 | 2 |
| Lewis | 30 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 19 | 3 |
No. 10 Lewis Slips Past No. 14 Men?s Volleyball
March 14, 2009 | Men's Volleyball
ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - - For the second time in three days the No. 14 Ball State men's volleyball team suffered a heartbreaking five-set road loss, this time falling to No. 10 Lewis by a score of 3-2 (30-23, 26-30, 28-30, 30-25, 19-17) Friday evening at Neil Carey Arena.
With the loss, the Cardinals fall to 10-6 overall and 4-2 in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association play. The Flyers improve to 13-5 (4-1 MIVA) with the win. BSU is now third in the MIVA standings, trailing No. 15 Ohio State (5-1 MIVA) and Lewis.
Matt Sprague (Ballwin, Mo./Marquette H.S.) was Ball State's top attacker in the contest, racking up a career-high 18 kills, while adding nine digs. Todd Chamberlain (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) posted his fouorth career double-double, and first this season, by adding 17 kills and 10 digs.
J.D. Gasparovic (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville H.S.) tied for match-high honors with seven blocks, while adding 11 kills. Ethan Pheister (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) guided the Ball State attack to a .211 (70-33-175) attacking mark in the match, while adding five kills, five digs and a pair of aces.
Lewis' Drew Pickering was the top attack on the night, smashing 27 kills while hitting .479 (27-4-48). Nathan Klaas and Billy Sahagian also collected double-digit kills for Lewis, with 18 and 14, respectively. Lewis finished the contest with a .259 (75-32-166) attack percentage.
Defensively, the Flyers' Nick Perakes tallied a match-best 19 digs, while Billy Ebel (Lenexa, Kan./Bishop Miege H.S.) paced the Cardinals with 14.
After holding a brief 5-4 edge in the opening set, the Cardinals saw Lewis rally off eight of the next 10 points to build a 12-7 edge. Ball State was able to cut the gap to three points at the 13-10 mark after kills from Pheister and Chamberlain, but the hosts answered quickly with the next two points to regain the five-point edge. BSU would get no closer than four points the rest of the frame, eventually losing the game 30-23 on a Sahagian kill.
It was the Cardinals who would build the 12-7 lead in the second set, as BSU used a Pheister service ace and a Gasparovic kill to pull ahead 2-1 and never trail. Ball State pushed the advantage to six points at the 18-12 mark off a Flyers attack error, only to see the hosts battle back within three at the 21-18 mark.
A Ball State attack error at the 26-24 mark got the score within two points, but service errors on the next four plays stopped any momentum Lewis could build and pushed the score to 28-26. A kill from Sprague gave BSU set-point at 29-26, while a block assists from Andy Nelson (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls H.S.) and Eric Schulte (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) ended the frame at 30-26.
Neither squad was able to establish control of the third game, at they battled to a 16-16 tie. Lewis gained the largest lead of the game by scoring the next three points, only to see BSU rally back and tie the set at 20. From there, the teams played to a 28-28 deadlock.
An attack error by the Flyers' Klaas on the next play gave BSU set point at 29-28, while a block from Gasparovic and Schulte followed to end the game at 30-28.
Game four started much like the third, with the team battling to an 8-8 tie. However, the Flyers caught fire and rallied off the next 11 points to pull ahead 19-8. Lewis reached set point at 29-20, only to see the Cardinals respond with the next five points. However, BSU was not able to overcome the earlier run, as a Pickering kill ended the game at 30-25 and forced a fifth set.
The final game saw the teams play to a 9-9 tie before two BSU attack errors, surrounding a Pickering ace, gave Lewis a 12-9 lead. The Cardinals drew within one point moments later, as a Gasparovic kill made the score 13-12. However, Lewis reached match-point at 14-12 with a Klaas kill on the next play.
Sprague gave Ball State life with a kill on his next swing, while back-to-back Flyers errors gave BSU match-point at 15-14. Unfortunately, a Pickering kill stopped the Cardinals' momentum and tied the score at 15.
Ball State survived two more match-point attempts from the hosts as the score reached 17-17. Sprague's career-high 18th kill knotted the score at 17. However, Brian Muesenfechter followed with his third kill in the match to give Lewis its fifth attempt to win the contest, while Pickering secured the victory for the Flyers with his match-best 27th kill of the night.
The Ball State men's volleyball team concludes its current six-match road swing Saturday with a 7 p.m. (CT) first serve at Loyola.
