Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
10-7 (4-3MIVA)
Loyola
9-7 (1-4MIVA)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball State | 30 | 32 | 27 | 31 | 10 | 2 |
| Loyola | 24 | 30 | 30 | 33 | 15 | 3 |
Loyola Rallies To Stun No. 14 Men?s Volleyball, 3-2
March 15, 2009 | Men's Volleyball
CHICAGO, Ill. - - Despite holding a 2-0 lead and a pair of players recording career-highs in kills, the No. 14 Ball State men's volleyball team suffered its third straight five-game loss with a 3-2 (24-30, 30-32, 30-27, 33-31, 15-10) setback to Loyola at Alumni Gym Saturday evening.
With the loss, the Cardinals fall to 10-7 overall and to 4-3 in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association action. Loyola improves to 9-7 (1-4 MIVA) with the victory.
For the second straight night, Ball State's Matt Sprague (Ballwin, Mo./Marquette H.S.) recorded a career-high in kills, this time connecting for 21. He also finished the match with a career-high 12 digs for his first career double-double. In addition, Sprague turned in a .425 (21-4-40) attack percentage in the match.
Dominic Spadavecchio (Palatine, Ill./William Fremd H.S.) also collected career-highs for kills (12) and digs (10) in the contest, while posting his first career double-double.
J.D. Gasparovic (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville H.S.) and Todd Chamberlain (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) also posted double-digit kills in the contest, with 11 and 10, respectively. In addition, Gasparovic tied for match-high honors with five total blocks.
Ball State setter Ethan Pheister (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) guided the Cardinals to a .292 (68-23-154) attack percentage in the match, while recording his first double-double of the season with 61 assists and 11 digs.
Loyola had five players record double-figure kills in the match, with Nick Lamoureux tying Sprague for match-high honors with 21 kills. Mike Bunting added 18 kills, while Michael Morice, George Kamberos and Krisjanis Berzins posted 16, 12 and 11, respectively.
As a team, the Ramblers finished the match with a .274 (80-32-175) attack percentage. Loyola's Derek Jensen paced all players with 14 digs in the contest, while Berzins added 11 to complete a kill-dig double-double.
The teams played to a 17-17 tie to open the first game before a Sprague kill and a service ace from Spadavecchio gave BSU a 19-17 edge. The Cardinals pushed their lead to three points at the 22-19 mark, thanks to a Gasparovic kill, and maintained the margin at 27-24.
Kills from Sprague and Andy Nelson (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls H.S.) gave BSU set point at 29-24, while a Loyola attack error ended the game.
After playing to a 3-3 tie in the second game, the Cardinals surged to a 9-5 advantage thanks in part to three Sprague kills. Loyola drew within one point at the 10-9 mark, only to have BSU regain a three point lead at 13-10.
Loyola responded with a seven of the next eight points to take a three-point lead of its own at 17-14. After a Ball State timeout, a Gasparovic kill, a Spadavecchio solo block and a Ramblers attack error tied the frame at 17. With the score knotted at 19, Loyola rattled off four of the next five points to gain a 23-20 edge.
With Loyola holding a 26-23 lead, a Sprague kill and three straight Ramblers attack errors gave Ball State a one-point advantage at 27-26. While a kill from LUC's Kamberos tied the score at 27, a Sprague kill and Loyola attack error gave BSU set point at 29-27.
The Ramblers responded with the next two points and the teams played to a 30-30 tie, before two more attacking errors from the hosts gave Ball State a 32-30 second set victory.
Loyola scored the first three points of the third game and eventually pulled ahead by seven points at 11-4, with two service aces from Lamoureux ending the run. Ball State scored the next two points, with a Sprague kill and Nelson solo block, to get within five at 11-6.
With Loyola holding a 20-15 lead, alternating LUC attack errors and service aces from Sprague helped the Cardinals rally within one point at 20-19. With BSU trailing 24-22, kills from Sprague and Nelson tied the set for first time and forced Loyola to call timeout.
Ball State took its first lead of the set after the timeout on a Loyola attack error, only to see the hosts regain the lead at 27-26 on a Morice kill. A Berzins service ace on the next play pushed the lead to two and force the Cardinals to call for a minute break.
Morice gave the Ramblers set point with another kill at the 29-27 mark, while a Bunting kill ended the game at 30-27 and forced a fourth game.
The fourth frame opened with the teams playing to an 11-11 tie before a BSU attack error and a Lamoureux kill gave the hosts a two-point lead at 13-11. From there, the teams traded the next 12 points before another Ball State attack error gave Loyola a three-point lead at 20-17 and led to a timeout.
A Sprague kill after the break allowed BSU to draw within two, but back-to-back Lamoureux kills pushed the Loyola advantage to four at 22-18. With BSU trailing 23-20, a Spadavecchio kill and a pair of Berzins attack errors tied the set at 23.
With the score tied at 24, a Loyola attack error and a Gasparovic kill gave BSU a two-point lead at the 26-24 mark, while a block assists from Pheister and Gasparovic pushed the score to 27-25. After a Spadavecchio kill gave BSU a three-point lead at 28-25, kills from Morice, Kamberos and Bunting tied the score at 28.
Gasparovic snapped the Loyola run and gave BSU match point at 29-28, but another Bunting kill tied the score at 29. After a service error gave BSU its second attempt at match point, a Bunting kill and Ball State attack error gave Loyola its first set point at 31-30. While a Nelson kill kept the Cardinals alive momentarily, kills from Kamberos and Berzins gave Loyola the game at 33-31 and forced a fifth frame.
The teams battled to a 5-5 tie to open the fifth game, before Loyola scored four of the next five points to pull ahead 9-6. The Ramblers went on to reach match point at 14-10 on a Bunting kill, before winning the game 15-10 and the match 3-2 on a Kamberos service ace.
The Ball State men's volleyball team returns to action Tuesday, when it hosts Carthage at 7:30 p.m. in Worthen Arena.
