Ball State University
4-0
St. Francis
0-6
Men?s Volleyball Remains Undefeated With 3-1 Win
January 18, 2015 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State (4-0) men's volleyball team continued on with its undefeated season with a 3-1 (27-29, 25-17, 25-9, 25-14) win over Saint Francis (0-6) Saturday evening. The Cardinals were set back in the first, then came back to win the remaining three sets at Worthen Arena to round out the home opening weekend of action.
“This is something that we need to work through because we don't get to play just one match a week,” Ball State men's volleyball head coach Joel Walton said. “We've got to be able to play Friday night and come back on Saturday night with something still left in the tank.”
Offensively, Ball State held Saint Francis to a -.043 attack percentage, while the Cardinals boasted a strong .550 in the final set. Senior outside attack Shane Witmer led the team with 10 kills, six digs, and two blocks to turn in a .714 personal attack percentage.
Defensively, junior outside attack Marcin Niemczewski racked up nine digs, three blocks and one ace with seven kills, while freshman middle attack Matt Walsh served up two aces, six blocks and one dig with six kills. Senior libero David Ryan Vander Meer received eight shots with seven digs, and senior outside attack Matt Sutherland boasted an error-free 31 receptions.
“It was nice to be able to use some of our bench tonight, and to have those guys with fresh legs go and do some good things,” Coach Walton said. “They made some brave plays from out of the normal system and it was nice to see our entire team come in and contribute tonight.”
Ball State had the opportunity to put in some new faces from the bench, including junior outside attack Edgardo Cartagena who tallied five kills, three blocks and two digs, along with sophomore middle attack Alex Pia who turned in three kills, two blocks, one dig with one assist.
Junior setter Hiago Garchet posted an excellent 41 assists on 85 sets, while serving an error-free 15 serves. For the second night in a row, Garchet went on a five-point serving streak, while Niemczewski went for 11 in a row in the third set.
Saint Francis was well rounded, with four players marking seven kills on the night, while setter Ray Frazer turned in 31 assists on 101 attempts, with 14 error-free serves. Saint Francis forced nine lead changes throughout 20 tied scores in the first set, but only pushed five changes throughout the following three sets.
“It was good to see a lot of our younger guys battle back in a win like that, especially in a good atmosphere in opening weekend at home,” Witmer said of the comeback after the narrow first set. “We said going into this match that the thing that was going to win us each game is effort and keeping a bit of consistency throughout our roster and we kept the play deep through all the lines.”
The Ball State men's volleyball team will be back in action next Friday, Jan. 23, when they travel to Boston, Mass. to take on Harvard at 7 p.m. and again on Saturday, Jan. 24 in Fairfield, Conn. against Sacred Heart at 6 p.m.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State men's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateMVB on Twitter and Instagram.
