Ball State University
5-1
George Mason
1-2
Men?s Volleyball Tops George Mason, 3-1
January 30, 2010 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Behind a career-high 17 kills from redshirt freshman Jamion Hartley (North Chicago, Ill./North Chicago H.S.) and a career-best 11 total blocks from junior Anders Nelson (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls H.S.), the Ball State men's volleyball team scored a 3-1 (30-23, 31-33, 30-19, 31-29) non-conference victory over George Mason Friday night at Worthen Arena.
With the victory, the Cardinals improve to 5-1 on the year, and up their current winning streak to five matches. The Patriots fall to 1-2 with the loss.
"We did some good things, and our guys competed well at points in the match," said Ball State head coach Joel Walton. "We are still looking for one real consistent win this year. We have to make sure our team comes in focused tomorrow and plays from start to finish in the match."
In addition to his team-leading 17 kills, Hartley finished the contest with six digs and three total blocks, while Nelson added seven kills and a pair of digs to his career-high 11 total blocks (two solo, nine assists).
Also turning in a solid effort for the Cardinals was junior Lee Meyer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller H.S.), who logged his second career double-double with 13 kills and a team-best 12 digs.
George Mason was paced offensively by Andrew Dentler's match-best 22 kills, while Luke Maloney added a match-high 15 digs.
As a team, Ball State held a .215 (54-25-135) to .099 (54-39-152) attacking advantage, while posting a season-high 17.5 total blocks, compared to 10 for the guests.
The Cardinals opened the match strong, playing to a 8-4 lead behind a kill and service ace from junior J.D. Gasparovic (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville H.S.). Ball State kept its four-point lead at the 17-13 mark, only to see a block from the Patriots' Javier Perez and Piotr Dabrowski spark a 5-2 run to cut the gap to 19-18.
However, a GMU ball handling error and a yellow card on the next rally led to a two-point swing for the Cardinals, as they went on to build a 25-19 lead. A kill from Hartley gave BSU game-point at 29-23, while a block from Nelson and senior Ethan Pheister (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) ended the frame on the next play.
The second set was the closest of the night with 24 ties and nine lead changes. With the score knotted at 22, the Cardinals used a service error, a Nelson kill and a pair of blocks (both including Nelson) to surge ahead 26-22. However, two kills from George Mason's Dave Reilly surrounding a pair of Dentler markers tied the frame back at 26.
A kill from Gasparovic gave the Cardinals a chance to end the game at 29-28, but Dentler followed with a kill of his own to tie the score at 29. As BSU attack error on the following play gave GMU a chance to end the stanza, but redshirt sophomore Dominic Spadavecchio (Palatine, Ill./William Fremd) responded with a kill and an ace to give Ball State a 31-30 edge.
Unfortunately, the Patriots scored the next three points to win the frame 33-31 on another block by Perez and Dabrowski.
After splitting the opening two games, the Cardinals defense came to life in the third frame, limiting the GMU attack to a match-low .032 (9-8-31) attack percentage in a 30-19 game victory. The Cardinals played to a 12-4 lead before taking their first 10-point edge at the 18-8 mark. Hartley smashed the final two BSU kills of the set to give the hosts a 2-1 game advantage in the contest.
"In game three, we got into a good defensive rhythm," added Walton. "Our block was getting to the right places and putting pressure on George Mason's attackers. We just didn't let up on defense. I just have not seen our team play defense like that in an entire match. Tomorrow, when need to come out and prove we can play like that for a complete match."
The final frame closely mirrored the second set, as the teams played through 18 ties and nine lead changes to determine a winner. The Cardinals once again led the frame 26-22, only to see the guests battle back and tie the score at 26.
A Meyer kill gave the Cardinals an early chance to close the match, at 29-28, only to see a Dentler kill push the frame into overtime. A Pheister kill gave Ball State its second attempt to close the match, while a George Mason attack error ended the game at 31-29 and the match at 3-1.
The Ball State men's volleyball team has a quick turnaround Saturday night, as it hosts Rutgers-Newark in a 7:30 p.m. first serve at Worthen Arena.
