Ball State University
0-1 (0-1MIVA)
Loyola
2-0 (1-0MIVA)
No. 13 Men?s Volleyball Drops Season Opener At Loyola
January 16, 2010 | Men's Volleyball
CHICAGO, Ill. - - Despite a career-high 14 kills from redshirt freshman Jamion Hartley (North Chicago, Ill./North Chicago H.S.), the 13th-ranked Ball State men's volleyball team opened the 2010 season and Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association play with a 3-0 (30-28, 31-29, 30-25) setback at Loyola-Chicago's Alumni Gym Friday night.
With the loss, the Cardinals are 0-1 (0-1 MIVA) on the year, while Loyola improves to 2-0 (1-0 MIVA) after the victory.
"We suffered a very frustrating loss tonight," said Ball State head coach Joel Walton. "We played well enough to win the first two games, but could not push through. That put a lot of pressure on us in the third game, and Loyola was able to build a big lead we were unable to overcome."
In his first collegiate match, Hartley led the Cardinals with 14 kills while connecting for a .241 (14-7-29) hitting mark. He also added three block assists and a dig in the contest.
The Ramblers offence was paced by Domenic DeWaele, who led all players with 16 kills while hitting for a .367 (16-5-30) rate of success. Mike Bunting also collected double-digit kills for Loyola, adding 14 to go along with a .435 (14-4-23) attack percentage.
Ball State junior Anders Nelson (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls H.S.) and redshirt junior Marcus Imwalle (Maria Stein, Ohio/Marion Local H.S.) each tallied nine kills in the contest, while junior J.D. Gasparovic (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville H.S.) added seven to go along with a team-high six total blocks. Nelson also finished the contest with a .750 (9-0-12) attack percentage.
Senior Billy Ebel (Lenexa, Ka./Bishop Miege H.S.) led the Cardinals backcourt with eight digs, while Loyola's Tommy Becker tallied a match-high nine digs.
"I thought our passers did a great job getting the ball to Ethan tonight," added Walton. "Ethan was able to give our hitters a lot of great looks. Unfortunately, we struggled putting the ball away on the left side. I also thought Jamion played a strong match as a freshman in his hometown."
As a team, Ball State finished the match with a .269 (49-21-104) attack percentage, compared to a .326 (47-17-92) rate of success for Loyola-Chicago. The Ramblers also held a 27-to-22 edge in digs and a 10-to-7 advantage in total blocks.
While the Rambler's Kris Berzins scored the first point of match, it was the Cardinals who opened up an early lead with five of the next six points. Redshirt sophomore Dominic Spadavecchio (Palatine, Ill./William Fremd H.S.) started the run with a kill, while capping it with an ace to make the score 5-2 in favor of Ball State. The hosts battled back to tie the set at 9-9, only to see the Cardinals answer with a 4-1 run, to build the lead back to three at 13-10 after a block assists from Gasparovic and Hartley.
A 5-2 run by Loyola evened the set once again at 15, and from there neither team was able to gain control as they battled to a 23-23 stalemate. Back-to-back Ball State errors and a DeWaele kill gave the Ramblers a three-point edge at 26-23. Two Loyola errors helped BSU draw within one at 28-27, but the hosts scored two of the final three points to win the game 30-28.
A kill from Hartley and a solo block from Gasparovic helped the Cardinals play to a 3-2 lead to open the second set, before three-straight points from the Ramblers pushed the score to 6-3. This time, it was Ball State who would battle back to tie the set at nine, after a kill from Imwalle.
With the score tied at 12, back-to-back kills from Nelson pushed the score to 14-12 and led to a Loyola timeout. Senior Ethan Pheister (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) followed with a kill of his own to up the BSU advantage to 15-12.
After Loyola climbed within one at 15-14, a kill from Nelson and an ace from Imwalle gave the Cardinals an 18-14 lead. Ball State looked poised to win the set when a Hartley kill pushed the lead to five at 22-17. Unfortunately, a 6-1 run from Loyola tied the set at 23.
With the score knotted at 27, a Bunting kill and a block from Berzins and Matt Adler gave the Ramblers the first set point at 29-27. A Spadavecchio kill and Loyola attack error tied the frame at 29, only to have a pair of BSU errors end the game at 31-29.
BSU's Hartley scored kills on three of the first four plays to give Ball State a 3-1 advantage to open the third frame. However, Loyola battled back to take a 6-5 lead with a 5-2 run capped by a DeWaele kill. While a Hartley kill tied the set at six, Loyola scored the next three points and would never trail again.
With the Cardinals trailing 28-21, a kill from Gasparovic and a pair of Ramblers attack errors cut the edge to four at 28-24. Loyola reached match point thanks to a Bunting kill on the next rally. Hartley followed with his 14th kill of the night, giving BSU one more chance to rally, but a service error ended the set at 30-25 and the match at 3-0 in favor of Loyola.
The Ball State men's volleyball team returns to action Saturday, when it travels to Carthage for a 7 p.m. (CT) first serve versus the Redmen.
