Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
15-8 (6-4MIVA)
IPFW
12-12 (3-5MIVA)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball State | 27 | 30 | 26 | 30 | 15 | 3 |
| IPFW | 30 | 26 | 30 | 16 | 12 | 2 |
No. 15 Men?s Volleyball Tops IPFW In Five
April 12, 2009 | Men's Volleyball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - - The Ball State men's volleyball team ended Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association play with a thrilling 3-2 (27-30, 30-26, 26-30, 30-16, 15-12) victory over IPFW Saturday evening at the Gates Sports Center.
With the win, the Cardinals end the MIVA portion of its schedule with a 6-4 record. Ball State improved to 15-8 overall after the win, and is now 4-0 in matches when it is ranked 15th in the nation. IPFW fell to 12-12 (3-5 MIVA) with the loss.
Dominic Spadavecchio (Palatine, Ill./William Fremd H.S.) continued his stellar play for the Cardinals, racking up a career-high 20 kills, while adding a career-best 11 digs for his team-leading third double-double of the campaign. He also added a match-best three service aces while hitting a career-best .405 (20-5-37) in the victory.
BSU's Louisville Slugger Todd Chamberlain (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) added 16 kills in the contest, while Matt Sprague (Ballwin, Mo./Marquette H.S.) added 15, including the match-winner.
Andy Nelson (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls H.S.) paced all player with nine total blocks, including six in the fourth game, while adding eight kills and an ace.
Daniel Penrod (Selma, Ind./Wapahani H.S.) guided the Ball State offense to a .273 (67-26-150) rate of success in the contest, dishing out a career-high 56 assists, while also adding career-highs of seven digs and two block assists.
IPFW's Ben Duckworth racked up a match-high 27 kills, while Darryl Shank pounded 17. Overall, the Mastodons hit .296 (67-22-152) in the contest, with Corey Stewart dishing out 55 assists.
Billy Ebel (Lenexa, Kan./Bishop Miege H.S) led all players with 12 digs, marking the 13th time this season he has logged double-digit digs, while Duckworth added a team-best nine for IPFW.
In the opening set, the Cardinals held a slim 7-6 advantage after a kill from Nelson, only to see smashes from Nathaniel Berg and Duckworth spark a 7-0 run which gave the host Mastodons a 13-7 edge. With IPFW leading 16-10, it was the Cardinals turn to make a run, as two aces from Sprague and a solo block from J.D. Gasparovic (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville H.S.) helped BSU battle within one at 16-15 and forced IPFW to use both its timeouts.
After the teams traded the next two points, IPFW scored seven of the next 10 to reclaim a five-point lead at 24-19. After BSU's second timeout, the Cardinals went on another run of its own, thanks in part to an ace and kill from Spadavecchio, and drew within one again at 26-25. However, a kill from Shank ended BSU's momentum, as the hosts went on to win the game 30-27 on Duckworth's eighth kill of the frame.
Game two saw the teams play to a 4-4 tie, before a service error and kills from Spadavecchio and Nelson gave BSU a 7-4 lead. The Cardinals extended their advantage to five, at 11-6, after a kill and ace from Spadavecchio, and maintained the margin at 12-7. A 9-2 run by the Mastodons followed, giving IPFW its first lead of the set at 16-14.
The Cardinals responded with the next three points to regain the lead at 17-16, with an ace from Chamberlain forcing a timeout from the hosts at that point. A Nelson ace moments later, at 20-18, led to IPFW's second timeout. After the teams traded the next eight points, the Ball State block came to life thanks to a pair of block assists from Nelson - - who was joined by Spadavecchio on the first and Chamberlain on the second - - that gave the guests a 26-22 lead.
With the score at 28-26, a kill from Gasparovic gave Ball State game point, while a back row attack error from IPFW's setter ended the game at 30-26 in favor of the Cardinals.
The teams opened the third game with a 7-7 deadlock, before kills from Sprague and Chamberlain, plus back-to-back Spadavecchio markers, lead to an 11-7 BSU lead and an IPFW one-minute break. With about one-third of the crowd of 915 chanting Ball State after the break, Chamberlain added an ace to push the score to 12-7.
With the Cardinals leading 14-9, back-to-back blocks sparked a 4-0 IPFW run leading to a BSU timeout at 14-13. From there the teams battled to a 23-23 tie before kills from Shank and Duckworth gave the hosts a 25-23 edge. After a Ball State timeout, an attack error extended the lead to three, before kills from Gasparovic and Chamberlain moved the Cardinals back within one at 26-25.
Back-to-back Shank kills after a Mastodons one-minute break followed, while a Duckworth kill gave IPFW frame point at 29-25. A kill from Chamberlain gave BSU a moment of hope, but Shank answered with the game-winning kill at 30-26.
The Cardinals jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead in the fourth game, using a Sprague kill, two markers from Spadavecchio and a pair of IPFW errors. After a timeout, the teams traded service errors before three-straight blocks, with all three including Nelson, helped BSU force IPFW's second timeout at 10-2.
Ball State claimed its first 10-point lead at 13-3 on a block assist from Nelson and Chamberlain. IPFW cut the gap to seven at 15-8, only to see the Cardinals reclaim the 10-point advantage at 19-9 on a kill and block assist from Penrod. BSU went on to win the game 30-16 on a set error from IPFW's Stewart. Overall, Ball State tallied seven team blocks in the game, including six from Nelson.
The teams traded the first 14 points of the fifth game, before a Duckworth attack error gave the Cardinals their first lead and an 8-7 edge at the court switch. Chamberlain followed with a tip kill on the next play to give BSU a two point edge at 9-7.
Another Chamberlain kill gave BSU a three-point lead at the 11-8 mark and forced IPFW to call timeout. A Marcus Imwalle (Maria Stein, Ohio/Marion Local H.S.) ace gave Ball State a four-point lead at 12-8, while a Nelson kill gave BSU match point at 14-10. IPFW scored the next two points, before a Sprague kill ended the game at 15-12.
The Ball State men's volleyball team returns to action Friday, when it host Penn State in a 7:30 p.m. match that will be televised live on the Ball State Sports Network.
