Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
7-5
Loyola
10-0
No. 1 Loyola Remains Undefeated With Cards 3-0 Loss
February 15, 2015 | Men's Volleyball
CHICAGO, Ill. - - The No. 15 Ball State (7-5, 2-3 MIVA) men's volleyball team was served its third sweep in a row Saturday evening with a 3-0 (19-25, 19-25, 20-25) final against No. 1 Loyola University (10-0, 3-0 MIVA), while the defending national champion Ramblers remain undefeated in both Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association and season play.
“I thought our serving was an issue tonight. We struggled putting the serve in play, and at times we started to gain some momentum and we ended that momentum with a bad serve,” Ball State men's volleyball head coach Joel Walton said. “We ran good offense at times and had some players really set up in that area for us though.”
Leading the Cardinals offensively was junior Marcin Niemczewski with nine kills on 18 attempts for a .389 attack percentage, along with senior Matt Sutherland who posted eight kills on 17 attempts. Sophomore Edgardo Cartagena, junior Jack Lesure, and Niemczewski each posted one ace throughout the game, though the Ramblers managed to rack up four to up the Cardinals three.
Defensively, sophomore Brendan Surane and junior Hiago Garchet tallied four digs, while freshman Matt Walsh tallied two block assists. Garchet also posted two block assists and 31 assists throughout the three-set match. Senior libero David Ryan Vander Meer received 22 error-free shots, while Cartagena marked 23 with a 1.000 reception rate.
“We're still trying to figure out how to get our outside offense together, so that continues to be a struggle for us in the last two matches,” Walton went on. “That will be something we'll be very focused on in the upcoming weeks.”
Ball State suffered from 19 service errors and 14 attack errors compared to Loyola's 10 service errors paired with 11 attack errors. Loyola also only allowed a total of four lead changes throughout the three sets.
The Ramblers held the advantage in kills (36-32), attack percentage (.373-.240), digs (26-15), and blocks (8.5-3.0), despite falling in total attacks to the Cardinals (75-67).
The Ball State men's volleyball team will be back at Worthen Arena when they host McKendree on Friday, Feb. 21, followed by MIVA foe Ohio State on Saturday, Feb. 22. First serve will take place at 7:30 p.m.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State men's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateMVB on Twitter and Instagram.
