Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
7-3 (2-3MIVA)
Quincy
3-5 (1-2MIVA)
Quincy Stuns Men?s Volleyball, 3-1
February 14, 2010 | Men's Volleyball
QUINCY, Ill. - - Despite three players with double-figure kills, the Ball State men's volleyball team saw its 21-match winning streak over Quincy come to an end Saturday night with a 3-1 (30-28, 36-34, 26-30, 30-25) setback at Pepsi Arena.
One night earlier, the Cardinals scored a trilling 3-2 (30-26, 30-21, 22-30, 22-30, 15-13) victory over the Hawks, battling throughout the match and keeping their streak alive thanks to a pair of match-ending kills from Anders Nelson (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls H.S.).
After Saturday's setback, the Cardinals fall to 7-3 overall and to 2-3 in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association action. Quincy improves to 3-5 (1-2 MIVA) with the win.
Junior Lee Meyer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller H.S.) paced the Ball State attack for the second-straight night with 18 kills, while adding eight digs and hitting .268 (18-7-41). Over the two matches at Quincy, Meyer scored 45 total kills and hit .343 (45-11-99).
Joining Meyer with double-figure kills Saturday were redshirt freshman Jamion Hartley (North Chicago, Ill./North Chicago H.S.) with 13 and junior Dominic Spadavecchio (Palatine, Ill./William Fremd H.S.) with 10.
On defense, senior libero Billy Ebel (Lenexa, Kan./Bishop Miege H.S.) led the BSU backcourt with 12 digs, while junior J.D. Gasparovic (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville H.S.) tallied a season-high nine total blocks (one solo, eight assists).
The Hawks' offense was paced by Joseph Ascher's match-best 19 kills, while Peter Coley scored 16 and Joseph Sokol added 11. Sokol also scored 12 digs for his second double-double in two days. Quincy libero Tanner Wright led all players with 17 digs.
Quincy finished the match with a .287 (69-26-150) to .247 (67-29-154) attacking advantage, while out-digging the Cardinals by one, 48-to-47. The Hawks also held a seven to two edge in aces. Ball State was able to out-block Quincy 13 to 11.
The first set of the night saw the teams battle through 16 ties, only to see the score knotted at 20. The kill which tied the set at 20 was a vicious swing off the arm of BSU's Hartley which blasted off a Quincy defender and shattered the screen of the Hawks' statistics computer.
Quincy rebounded from the loss of their computer equipment with a block assists from Coley and Kyle Volstad, followed by a Ben Schulze service ace to pull ahead 22-20. Another Hartley kill cut the lead back to one, only to have a pair of BSU miscues extend the edge to three at 24-21.
With the Hawks maintaining the three-point lead at 28-25, a kill from Spadavecchio and a Quincy attack error helped BSU draw within one for a second time. However, a Volstad kill gave QU game-point after the next rally. A Hartley marker kept BSU alive at 29-28, but Coley followed with the frame-winning kill.
The second game was another hard-fought battle, at the teams played through 18 ties, nine lead changes and 10 extra points to determine a winner. The Cardinals looked poised to tie the set with a five-point lead at the 21-16 mark after back-to-back Hartley kills, but two Ascher kills and a pair of Dan Dresen aces helped Quincy rattle off five straight points and tie the game at 21.
With the hosts holding a 28-27 lead, a Ryan Lehmann kill gave Quincy the first game-point at 29-27. Ball State answered with a Meyer kill and a block assist from Hartley and Gasparovic to tie the game back at 29. Gasparovic followed with a solo block on the next play to give BSU a swing to tie the match. Unfortunately, a Ball State attack error tied the set back at 30.
From there, the teams played to a 34-34 deadlock. Another Lehmann kill gave Quincy their fifth game-point at 35-34, while a Cardinals attack error ended the game at 36-34.
Determined to keep their winning streak over the Hawks alive, the Cardinals came out firing in the third game, building a quick 4-0 lead thanks in part to kills from Spadavecchio and senior setter Ethan Pheister (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.). Ball State extended its lead to eight points at the 14-6 mark following a kill from Nelson.
With Ball State maintaining the eight point lead after an Eric Schulte (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) kill at 17-9, the Hawks slowly chipped away at the lead, drawing within four at 18-14 thanks to a Coley kill. Later in the set, back-to-back kills from Lehmann and Coley helped the hosts pull within two at 28-26 and force a BSU timeout.
The break would do its trick for the Cardinals, as a Quincy service error on the next play gave BSU game-point at 29-26. Meyer followed with the game-winning kill to get Ball State within a frame of tying the match.
The fourth game was another close battle, as the teams played to an 18-18 stalemate, which neither club pulling ahead by more than three points early in the stanza. Unfortunately for the visitors from Muncie, a service error and a block from Sokol and Volstad would seal the Cardinals fate, as Quincy pulled ahead 20-18.
A block assists from Meyer and Gasparovic on the next rally helped BSU battle back within one, but Quincy was able to score three of the next four points. Ball State was able to draw within one for a second team after a Nelson kill and an attack error made the score 23-22, but the hosts scored the next four points and went on to win the set 30-25 on Sokol's 11th kill of the night.
The Ball State men's volleyball team returns to action Friday, when it travels to Penn State to face the ninth-ranked Nittany Lions at 7 p.m.. The Cardinals will then travel to St. Francis Saturday for another 7 p.m. first serve.
