Ball State University Athletics
MVB Visits Quincy For Pair Of MIVA Matches
February 10, 2010 | Men's Volleyball
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Ball State men's volleyball team will open a four-match road swing this weekend with a pair of Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association matches at Quincy . . . The Cardinals and the Hawks square off at 7 p.m. (CT) both Friday and Saturday at Quincy's Pepsi Arena.
LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinals saw their six-match winning streak come to an end last Friday with a 3-0 (30-28, 34-32, 30-23) setback to then-No. 14 Ohio State at Worthen Arena . . . Despite near blizzard conditions in the Muncie area, a season-high 1,679 fans attended the match.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: The Cardinals enter the week with a 6-2 (1-2 MIVA) record after being swept by Ohio State last Friday . . . Jamion Hartley paces the Ball State attack with a 3.45 kills-per-game average, while J.D. Gasparovic leads the BSU offense with a .400 (65-19-115) attack percentage . . . At the net, Anders Nelson owns a league-best 1.66 blocks-per-game average, which ranks him second in the nation . . . Ethan Pheister has set the BSU offense to a .239 rate of success this season, while adding 1.34 digs, 0.76 blocks and 0.45 aces per game . . . Billy Ebel holds down the BSU backcourt with a 3.50 digs-per-game average.
SCOUTING QUINCY: The Hawks enter the week with a 2-4 (0-1 MIVA) record after being swept once by Lewis and twice by Pacific last week . . . Joseph Sokol paces the QU attack with a 2.38 kills-per-game average, while Hawks' setter Dan Dresen leads the offense with a .583 (7-0-12) attack percentage . . . Overall, Dresen has set the Quincy offense to a .172 rate of success this season, while adding 1.36 digs and 0.59 blocks per game . . . Chris Zeidler leads Quincy at the net with a 1.05 blocks-per-game average, while Tanner Wright holds down the QU backcourt with a 2.68 digs-per-game average.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES: The Cardinals hold a 33-2 lead in the all-time series with the Hawks, including 20 straight wins . . . Last season, BSU scored three wins over Quincy, starting with a 3-1 (30-20, 30-20, 35-37, 30-19) road victory March 5 . . . The Cardinals swept the Hawks in the final two meetings at Worthen Arena, including a 3-0 (30-19, 30-17, 30-27) victory March 28 and a 3-0 (30-18, 30-13, 30-27) MIVA Tournament Quarterfinal win April 25 . . . Quincy's last win in the series was a 3-1 (33-31, 24-30, 30-20, 30-26) homecourt victory March 2, 2001.
SUCCESS AT THE NET: Ball State enters the week ranked fifth in the nation with a 3.29 team blocks-per-game average . . . MIVA rival Lewis currently leads the nation at 3.72, while Loyola is fourth at 3.33 . . . BSU has tallied double-figure team blocks in six matches so far this year, with a season-high 17.5 in its four-set win over George Mason (Jan. 29).
THROWING UP THE BLOCK: Junior middle attacker Anders Nelson, who posted a career-high 11 total blocks (two solo, nine assists) in the Jan. 29 win over George Mason, enters the week ranked first in the MIVA and second nationally with a 1.66 blocks-per-game average . . . Nelson has led the Cardinals in blocks six times this season, including each of the last five contests.
NELSON FROM THE ATTACK LINE: In addition to being one of the nation's top blockers, Anders Nelson ranks eighth in the MIVA and 18th nationally with a .370 attack percentage . . . In last Friday's loss to Ohio State, Nelson led BSU with 11 kills and a .588 (11-1-17) hitting mark.
MORE FROM THE MIDDLE: Junior middle attacker J.D. Gasparovic is also making life tough for BSU opponents, ranking third in the MIVA and 10th nationally with a .400 attack percentage . . . On just 11 swings last Friday versus Ohio State, Gasparovic smashed eight kills while hitting .545 (8-2-11) . . . At the net, Gasparovic ranks 10th in the league and 32nd nationally with a 1.11 blocks-per-game average . . . Gasparovic enters the week ranked 18th in program history with 255 career block assists, while his 1.36 blocking average is seventh in school annals.
PHEISTER SERVES IT UP: With 13 aces so far this season, senior setter Ethan Pheister has upped his career total to 81 which ranks 13th in program history . . . Pheister, who also ranks fifth in program history with 3,162 career assists, is on pace to become one of only eight players in school annals to serve up more than 100 aces.
SEEING DOUBLE: Junior outside attacker Lee Meyer has recorded double-doubles in three of Ball State's last five matches and is tied for the team lead with double-figure kills five times this season . . . Prior to this year, Meyer had only recorded double-figure kills in three career matches and had never posted a double-double . . . Last season, BSU players tallied just six kill-dig double-double with Dominic Spadavecchio leading the team with three.
SPEAKING OF DOUBLE DIGITS: Redshirt freshman outside attacker Jamion Hartley posted a career-high 17 kills in the Jan. 29 win over George Mason, while adding 16 versus Rutgers-Newark (Jan. 30) . . . Over his first seven matches, Hartley has blasted double-figure kills five times and currently leads the team and ranks eighth in the MIVA with a 3.45 kills-per-game average . . . Hartley did not play last Friday versus Ohio State due to an injury.
EBEL DIGGING IT UP: Senior libero Billy Ebel enters the week ranks second in the MIVA and fourth nationally with a 3.50 digs-per-game average . . . So far this season, Ebel has racked up a team-best 98 digs, including a season-high 20 versus Grand Canyon (Jan. 21).
BALL STATE ON THE RADIO: WCRD 91.3 FM will once again be the radio home for the Cardinals during the 2010 season . . . The station is slated to cover all 13 home matches this season, as well as select road contests . . . James Rider will cover the play-by-play action, while Nick Golden provides the color commentary . . . The station also serves as the home for "The Ball State Men's Volleyball Show", a weekly BSU men's volleyball report which airs Mondays from 7-8 p.m. . . . All WCRD broadcasts will be streamed live and FREE of charge at www.ballstatesports.com.
