Ball State University Athletics
No. 13 Men's Volleyball Travels To No. 10 Ohio State Wednesday
April 28, 2010 | Men's Volleyball
MEN'S VOLLEYBALL TRAVELS TO OHIO STATE WEDNESDAY: The No. 4 seed Ball State men's volleyball team continues play in the 2010 MIVA Tournament Wednesday, when it travels to Columbus, Ohio, to take on No. 1 seed Ohio State in a 7 p.m. first serve at St. John Arena.
FOLLOW THE ACTION WITH WCRD: WCRD 91.3 FM continues its coverage of the 2010 MIVA Tournament as it will broadcast Wednesday's tournament tilt versus the Buckeyes . . . Fans can listen online for FREE at ballstatesports.com by clicking on the "Webcasts" button at the top of the page, or clicking the hyperlink in the weekly preview story . . . Free live stats will also be available for the match, while Ohio State's Buckeye Vision will offer live video free of charge.
TOP SEEDS ADVANCE IN QUARTERFINAL PLAY: All three higher seeds advanced to the 2010 MIVA Tournament semifinals with sweeps in Saturday's quarterfinal round . . . The effort marks the sixth straight season all the tops seeds have advanced to the semifinal round . . . The last time a lower seed won in the quarterfinals of the tournament was 2004, when No. 5 seed Lewis upset No. 4 seed IPFW 3-1 (30-20, 30-27, 22-30, 32-30) . . . In the semifinal round, the Cardinals were the last team to score an upset over a higher seed, posting a 3-2 (27-30, 21-30, 30-25, 31-29, 15-12) come-from-behind win over No. 2 seed Lewis as the No. 3 seed last season.
2010 MIVA Tournament Schedule
Quarterfinals, April 24 (No. # indicates seed)
Match 1: No. 2 Loyola def. No. 7 Grand Canyon 3-0 (30-17, 30-10, 30-17)
Match 2: No. 3 Lewis def. No. 6 Quincy 3-0 (30-16, 30-23 ,30-24)
Match 3: No. 4 Ball State def. No. 5 IPFW 3-0 (30-28, 30-23, 30-22)
Semifinals, April 28
Match 4: No. 4 Ball State at No. 1 Ohio State 7 p.m.
Match 5: No. 3 Lewis at No. 2 Loyola 7 p.m (CT)
Championship, May 1
Match 6: Match 4 Winner vs. Match 5 Winner (@ highest remaining seed)
GOING FOR 20: The Ball State men's volleyball team came one step closer to the program's 33rd 20-win season with last Saturday's quarterfinal victory over IPFW . . . With the win, BSU improved to 19-10 overall this season, including a 7-5 ledger in league play . . . Joel Walton, who is in his 12th season as BSU's head coach, has guided the program to seven 20-win seasons over his tenure.
IN THE POLLS: After three weeks at No. 15, the Cardinals moved up two spots in the latest AVCA Division I-II Mens Coaches Top 15 Poll, released April 19 . . . Ball State and UC San Diego are tied for 13th with both teams receiving 43 points in the ballot . . . The Cardinals started the season ranked 11th (preseason) and fell to 13th on Jan. 11, before dropping out for 10 weeks . . . The Cardinals re-entered the rankings March 29 after scoring a 3-0 sweep of then-No. 3 Cal State Northridge March 27 . . . BSU did receive votes in seven of the 10 polls it was not ranked . . . The next and final poll will be released after the NCAA Championships.
IN THE TOURNAMENT: Ball State enters Wednesday's MIVA Tournament semifinal match with a 57-25 (.695) all-time mark in league tournament play . . . BSU is 15-1 in quarterfinal matches, 16-10 in semifinal action and 14-11 in championships matches . . . From 1964-1969, BSU was 12-3 in round robin play.
BALL STATE VS. OHIO STATE: The Cardinals hold a 96-85-1 lead in the all-time series versus Ohio State . . . However, the Buckeyes have won the last seven meetings, including a pair of sweeps this season . . . Ball State's last win in the series was a 3-1 (26-30, 30-28, 32-30, 31-29) home win Feb. 15, 2008, while its last win at St. John Arena was a 3-0 (30-21, 31-29, 30-22) victory April 7, 2006 . . . The Cardinals are 31-45 all-time in matches played in Columbus, Ohio.
BSU VS. OHIO STATE IN MIVA TOURNAMENT PLAY: The Cardinals and Buckeyes have met 32 times in MIVA Tournament play, with Ohio State holding a 17-15 edge in those matches . . . Ohio State has ended the Cardinals year in each of the past three seasons, scoring tournament championship wins in 2008 and 2009, as well as a semifinal victory in 2007 . . . Overall, the Cardinals have lost their last seven MIVA Tournament matches versus Ohio State, with BSU's last victory coming in the form of a 3-0 (15-6, 16-14, 15-6) semifinal win in 1997 . . . BSU head coach Joel Walton is 0-7 versus Ohio State in MIVA Tournament play, while owning a 17-3 (.850) mark against all other league tournament opponents.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: Ball State advanced to the semifinal round of the 2010 MIVA Tournament with a 3-0 (30-28, 30-23, 30-22) sweep of IPFW last Saturday at Worthen Arena . . . With the win, the Cardinals improved to 19-10 on the year . . . Lee Meyer paces the Ball State attack with a team-high 274 kills for a 2.80 kills-per-game average, while J.D. Gasparovic leads the BSU offense with a .403 (250-64-462) attack percentage . . . Jamion Hartley has a team-best 2.98 kills-per-game average, but has seen limited action during the month of April . . . At the net, Gasparovic leads the team and the league with a 1.43 blocks-per-game average . . . Ethan Pheister has set the BSU offense to a .237 rate of success this season, while adding 1.64 digs, 0.32 aces and 0.74 blocks per game . . . Six-time MIVA Defensive Player of the Week Billy Ebel holds down the backcourt with a 3.05 digs-per-game average.
SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES: Coached by Ball State alumnus Pete Hanson (1979), Ohio State earned the No. 1 seed and first round bye in the MIVA Tournament by finishing the regular season with a 20-7 (11-1 MIVA) record . . . The Buckeyes are also the top-ranked MIVA team, holding the No. 10 slot in the latest AVCA Division I-II Men's Volleyball Coaches Top 15 Poll . . . Shawn Sangrey paces the OSU attack with a 4.67 kills-per-game average, while Kevin Heine leads the Buckeyes offense with a .465 (168-34-288) attack percentage . . . At the net, Grayson Overman paces OSU with a 1.30 blocks-per-game average, but has not played in the last six matches . . . Heine is next among Buckeye regulars with a 1.08 blocking average . . . Steven Kehoe has set the Ohio State offense to a .307 rate of success this season, while adding 1.76 digs and 0.76 blocks per game . . . Mik Berzins holds down the OSU backcourt with a 2.50 digs-per-game average.
BREAKING DOWN THE FIRST TWO MEETINGS THIS SEASON: Ohio State swept both regular season meetings with the Cardinals this season, scoring a 3-0 (30-28, 34-32, 30-23) win at Worthen Arena Feb. 5 and a 3-0 (30-26, 30-26, 30-19) victory at St. John Arena April 16 . . . Eric Schulte is the Cardinals top attack in the series with 17 kills and a 2.83 kills-per-game average . . . BSU's middles Anders Nelson and J.D. Gasparovic have 16 and 15 kills, respectively, to go along with identical 1.67 blocks-per-game averages . . . Shawn Sangrey is OSU's top attacker in the two matches, with 32 kills and a 5.33 kills-per-game average . . . Sangrey also has a team-best eight total blocks in the two meetings for a 1.33 block-per-game average . . . Overall, BSU has hit .207 in the two matches, while OSU owns a .294 hitting mark . . . Ball State does hold a 4.0 to 3.0 edge in blocking average, while Ohio State has served up 14 aces compared to four for the Cardinals.
FOUR CARDS NAME TO ALL-MIVA SQUADS: Senior libero Billy Ebel and junior middle attacker J.D. Gasparovic were named to the 2010 All-MIVA First Team as voted on by the league's seven head coaches . . . In addition, senior setter Ethan Pheister and junior middle attacker Anders Nelson were named to the All-MIVA Second Team . . . BSU has had at least one All-MIVA First Team selection in each of the past 10 seasons.
NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior setter Ethan Pheister was named the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I-II Men's National Player of the Week for his efforts in guiding the Cardinals to a 3-0 sweep of IPFW in the quarterfinal round of the 2010 MIVA Tournament . . . Pheister also earned BSU's first MIVA Offensive Player of the Week award this season for his performance . . . Pheister led the BSU offense to a .330 attack percentage, helping four different Cardinals score double-digit kills in the three-game win . . . His 45 assists, nine digs and four block assists were all highs for a setter in the quarterfinal round of the tournament . . . He also added three kills in the win . . . Pheister is the first BSU player to earn national player of the week accolades since Nick Meyer earned the honor March 26, 2007 . . . This is the 11th time a BSU player has earned the AVCA's top weekly honor.
SEVEN AND COUNTING: After helping guide the Cardinals to a 3-0 sweep of IPFW Saturday, senior libero Billy Ebel was named the MIVA Defensive Player of the Week for the fourth straight week and seventh time this season . . . In the MIVA Tournament quarterfinal victory over the Mastodons, Ebel led all players with 12 digs while posting a perfect 1.000 (20 for 20) reception percentage . . . This is the first year for the league's weekly defensive award, and Ebel leads all league players with seven selections . . . IPFW's Shaun Dryden and Ohio State's Mik Berzins are tied for second with two awards each.
MORE FROM THE BACK ROW: Billy Ebel enters the week with 326 digs this season, which is the highest single-season total for a BSU player in the rally scoring era . . . Ebel passed Ian Peckler's (2005-08) total of 304 digs in 2008 for the Ball State rally scoring record with his 13 digs in the April 17 win over then-No. 13 Loyola . . . Brian Hyde (1981-84) holds the all-time single-season digs record with 372 in 1984.
EBEL CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Billy Ebel enters the week with double-figure digs in 17 matches this season, which is the third-best single-season total in program history . . . In addition, Ebel's 678 career digs rank 12th in program history . . . Ebel needs just seven more digs to pass Keith Schunzel's (2001-04) career total of 684 for 10th on BSU's all-time list . . . Ebel's 32 career matches with double-figure digs is also third on BSU's all-time chart.
SET FOR SUCCESS: Senior setter Ethan Pheister led the Cardinals to a .330 attack percentage in last Saturday's win over IPFW . . . In the victory, four different BSU players logged double-figure kills, paced by Eric Schulte's match-high 12 markers . . . The effort marked the fifth time this season BSU has had four players score double-figure kills in the same match . . . However, it was the first time four BSU players collected 10-or-more kills in the same three-game contest this year.
OFFENSE HEATING UP: As a team, Ball State has hit above .300 in four of the last five matches, going for a .314 rate of success during the span . . . J.D. Gasparovic leads the offense with a .481 hitting mark over the last five matches, while Anders Nelson is second at .476 . . . BSU's defense has limited opponents to a .184 effort during the same time frame . . . BSU has hit above .300 in seven matches this season.
SCHULTE HITTING HIS STRIDE: Senior outside attacker Eric Schulte continued his strong offensive play last Saturday, racking up a match-high 12 kills versus IPFW . . . Schulte has collected double-digit kills in each of BSU's last four matches, including a career-high tying 15 in the senior night sweep of then-No. 13 Loyola (April 17) . . . Prior to the streak, Schulte had only collected double-figure kills six times in his career, including one time earlier this season . . . Over the last four matches, Schulte is averaging 4.25 kills per game, while hitting .370 and posting 1.00 blocks per game . . . Over his career, Schulte has averaged 2.12 kills and 0.59 blocks per game while hitting .163.
THE GREAT WALL OF GASPAROVIC: After collecting a match-high seven block assists in last Saturday's win over IPFW, junior middle attacker J.D. Gasparovic upped his career block total to 407 to climb to ninth on BSU's all-time career blocks chart . . . The effort also moved him into a tie for sixth with Mark Lau (1998-2000) on Ball State's career block assist list at 358 . . . Gasparovic's 1.41 career blocks-per-game average also ranks seventh in BSU annals.
MORE OFF THE BLOCK: J.D. Gasparovic's 152 total blocks and 128 block assists this season are BSU single-season rally scoring era records, while his 24 solo blocks rank second on the list . . . In addition, Gasparovic's 407 career total blocks and 358 career block assists are BSU rally scoring era career records, while his 49 career solo blocks rank third on Ball State's rally scoring chart . . . On offense, Gasparovic has also done an excellent job missing the block, as he ranks fifth in program history with a .396 career hitting percentage.
SPEAKING OF DEFENSE: As a team, the Cardinals enter the week ranked first in the league by limiting its opponents to a .197 attack percentage . . . In the April 9 win over King College, BSU limited the Tornado attack to a -.022 (28-30-92) rate of success, which is a season-low for a Ball State opponent . . . Overall, the Cardinals have limited their opponents to below .200 hitting marks in 15 matches this season . . . The Cardinals also rank first in the MIVA in digs per game (10.93) and second in blocks per game (3.20).
