Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
13-8 (4-4MIVA)
Ohio State
10-9 (6-1MIVA)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 27 | 21 | 30 | 30 | 15 | 3 |
| Ball State | 30 | 30 | 26 | 27 | 10 | 2 |
Ohio State Rallies Past No. 14 Men?s Volleyball
March 28, 2009 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Despite winning the first two games, the No. 14 Ball State men's volleyball team suffered a 3-2 (27-30, 21-30, 30-26, 30-27, 15-10) setback to Ohio State Friday evening at Worthen Arena.
The loss moves the Cardinals to 4-4 in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association play, and to 13-8 overall, with just two MIVA matches remaining. The Buckeyes remain the front runner in the league, improving to 10-9 (6-1 MIVA).
In tonight's contest, Todd Chamberlain (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) paced four BSU players in double-figure kills with 17. Dominic Spadavecchio (Palatine, Ill./William Fremd H.S.) tied a career-high with 15 markers, while Andy Nelson (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls H.S.) posted a career-best 13 kills.
J.D. Gasparovic (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville H.S.) rounded out BSU's players who smashed double-digit kills in the contest with 12. Overall, the Ball State offense connected for a .214 (68-34-159) rate of success, with Ethan Pheister (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) handing out 56 assists.
The Ohio State attack was paced by Ted Schoenfeldt's match-best 21 kills, while Robbie Klein added 19 and John Klanac posted 14. As a team, OSU hit .277 (74-30-159) for the night, with Steven Kehoe also dishing out 56 helpers.
Defensively, Ball State's Billy Ebel (Lenexa, Kan./Bishop Miege H.S.) collected a match-best 17 digs, one short of his career high, while Nelson tallied a team-best seven total blocks. Klein paced the Buckeyes with 11 digs, to complete a kill-dig double-double, while Kehoe netted 10 digs for an assist-dig double-double. OSU's John Albertson paced all players with nine total blocks, as Ohio State out-blocked Ball State 16.5 to 13.0.
The first set proved to be the closest of the match, as the two teams played through 14 ties and six lead changes. Ohio State held the largest lead of the game, three points at the 18-15 mark off a Ben Spurlock kill, only to see the Cardinals tie the set at 21 on a Chamberlain kill.
With Ball State trailing 27-26, Nelson gave the Cardinals a huge boost, collecting a kill and two block assists, joined by Chamberlain on the first and Pheister on the second, to give the Cardinals set point at 29-27. A Spurlock error followed, giving the Cardinals a 30-27 opening-set victory.
Game two opened with the teams playing to a 7-7 draw, before a Gasparovic kill, a triple block -Gasparovic, Spadavecchio and Matt Sprague (Ballwin, Mo./Marquette H.S.) ? and a Chamberlain service ace pushed the score to 10-7 and forced Ohio State to call a timeout.
Ball State extended its lead to six points at 18-12 on an OSU attack error, before going on to win the game by nine at 30-21 on a Chamberlain kill.
With the score of the third game tied at 10, kills from Klanac and Albertson started an 8-3 Ohio State run which gave the guests from Columbus the lead for good in the game. The Cardinals, who trailed by as many as eight points at 24-16, made a run and were able to close within three points at 26-23, only to trade the next seven points and lose the set 30-26 on a Schoenfeldt marker.
Ball State looked ready to cruise to a fourth-game victory, scoring the first six points, including a pair of aces from Pheister, but a couple of early errors helped stop the BSU momentum. Ohio State battled back within three at 10-7, only to see the Cardinals extend the lead back to six (13-7) on another Chamberlain kill and a pair of OSU attack errors.
The margin remained six points at the 21-15 mark, before Ohio State battled back within two at 25-23. A kill from Nelson ended the OSU momentum momentarily, but two Albertson kills, surrounding a block from Albertson and Kehoe, tied the set at 26.
After a BSU timeout, a triple block and back-to-back kills from Klanac gave the Buckeyes set point at 29-26. Following a service error, Klanac smashed the frame-winning at 30-27 to force a fifth game.
Nelson pounded the first point of the fifth game, only to see Schoenfeldt respond with a kill of his own. From there, the teams played to a 7-7 tie. Klanac gave OSU a one-point advantage at the court switch, while a pair of BSU attack errors pushed the score to 10-7.
The Cardinals were not able to recover from there, as Ohio State scored five of the final eight points to win the game 15-10 and the match 3-2.
The Ball State men's volleyball team returns to action Saturday, when it hosts Quincy at 7:30 p.m. at Worthen Arena.
