Ball State University Athletics
Men's Volleyball To Open Conference Play
January 29, 2015 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The No. 14 Ball State men's volleyball team (5-1) will return back to action at Worthen Arena to take on Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association opponent Quincy (5-2) Friday and Lindenwood (2-1) Saturday. Both matches are set for 7:30 p.m. and mark the start of a five-game home stand for the Cardinals.
Ball State was honored this week with freshman middle attack Matt Walsh earning the MIVA Defensive Player of the Week title for the second consecutive week after posting a 19 block weekend in the split of Harvard and Sacred Heart. The Cardinals also improved to a 5-1 record over the weekend to remain ranked No. 14 in the national polls.
Last weekend, Ball State was served its first loss of the season Friday night with a 3-0 (19-25, 14-25, 17-25) sweep at Harvard (1-2), while the Crimson earned their first victory of the season.
Leading the Cardinals offensively was Walsh with seven kills on 16 attempts, along with sophomore setter Connor Gross who posted three kills on 4 attempts for a .750 attack percentage. Gross also lined the Cardinals up with 15 sets throughout the match.
Defensively, senior libero David Ryan Vander Meer notched 10 digs and one assist, while Walsh tallied three block assists.
Ball State suffered from 13 service errors and 17 attack errors compared to Harvard's nine service errors paired with 10 attack errors.
The Crimson held the advantage in kills (34-28), attack percentage (.300 – .122), digs (44-26) and blocks (8.0-5.5), despite falling in total attacks to the Cardinals (90-80).
Saturday night, Ball State rebounded from Friday night's loss when it earned a 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-11) sweep to Sacred Heart (1-2) Saturday evening.
Junior outside attacker Marcin Niemczewski topped the Cardinal offense with a recorded 10 kills on 24 attempts while racking up six digs throughout the match. He was joined in the ranks by senior outside attacker Matt Sutherland who tallied seven kills for a .700 attack percentage while he also posted six digs on the night. They were assisted by junior setter Hiago Garchet who recorded 25 assists on 57 attempts for a .439 set percentage.
Defensively, the Cardinals were led by senior outside attacker Shane Witmer who received 15 error-free shots, while he also served up one of just two Ball State service aces in the match, with junior outside attacker Jack Lesure marking the other. At the net, Walsh stopped 14 attacks with one solo block and 13 block assists, as Vander Meer posted 6 digs.
Ball State benefitted from Sacred Heart's -.071 attack percentage, while the Cardinals held a .303 throughout the three-set match. Ball State also held the advantage in kills (32-27) and blocks (23.0-4.0), despite falling in digs to the Pioneers (31-27). The Cardinals only forfeited four lead changes through the course of the night and kept a clean attack with only nine errors to Sacred Heart's 34.
SCOUTING QUINCY: The Hawks will open their MIVA play Friday evening against the Cardinals starting the season with a 5-2 non-conference record. Since 2007, Ball State holds the advantage over Quincy 17-2, including a 10-1 record at home. Of the 17 wins, the Cardinals have swept the Hawks 10 times. Most recently, Ball State swept Quincy at Worthen Arena on Senior Day 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-21). This year, top players for the Hawks include Jarrod Kelso who holds 65 kills with a .447 attack percentage, and Jack Gamache who has claimed 64 kills and 8 serving aces. Kelso is also the only player for Quincy to have played in all 26 sets this season
SCOUTING LINDENWOOD: The Lions hold a 2-1 record on the season and will head out on the road for the first time this weekend. Lindenwood will open MIVA play on Friday against No. 10 IPFW before traveling down to Muncie. Colin Hackworth leads the team with 51 kills and 9 serving aces, while Connor Metcalfe holds 131 assists throughout 13 sets. Lindenwood is a recent addition to the MIVA and the Cardinal schedule, with Ball State holding an 8-1 overall record with the Lions. Ball State is also undefeated at home (4-0) against Lindenwood, which includes one sweep at Worthen Arena.
Live Stats and Broadcast will be available for fans unable to attend this weekend's matchups at:
QUINCY:
Live Broadcast: http://ballstatesports.com/liveEvents/liveEvents.dbml?SPID=7635&db_oem_id=14200
Live Stats: http://ballstatesports.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml?SPID=7635&DB_OEM_ID=14200&LIST_SPORT__VOLLEYBALL
LINDENWOOD:
Live Broadcast: http://ballstatesports.com/liveEvents/liveEvents.dbml?SPID=7635&db_oem_id=14200
Live Stats: http://ballstatesports.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml?SPID=7635&DB_OEM_ID=14200&LIST_SPORT__VOLLEYBALL
Looking ahead, the Ball State men's volleyball team will continue its home stretch at Worthen Arena on Thursday, Feb. 5 against IPFW, followed by George Mason on Saturday, Feb. 7. Both games will be held at 7:30 p.m., and the team will be hosting a poster signing session following the IPFW match for fans.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State men's volleyball action, follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateMVB on Twitter and Instagram.
