Ball State University Athletics
Men's Volleyball Hosts McKendree, No. 12 Ohio State
February 19, 2015 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The No. 15 Ball State men's volleyball team (7-5, 2-3 MIVA) will continue action at Worthen Arena when it takes on Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association opponents McKendree (5-10, 0-7 MIVA) Friday and No. 12 Ohio State (10-2, 4-0 MIVA) Saturday. Both matches are set for 7:30 p.m. and Saturday's lineup will hold a team poster signing session following the match.
Last weekend, Ball State continued MIVA play at home against Lewis in a 3-0 (22-25, 16-25, 15-25) final falling to the Flyers to make it Ball State's second losing sweep in a row.
Leading the Cardinals offensively was junior Marcin Niemczewski with 12 kills on 30 attempts, along with sophomore Brendan Surane who posted five kills on eight attempts for a .500 attack percentage. Surane also marked one of just two Cardinal aces, making it his 17th of the season.
Defensively, senior libero David Ryan Vander Meer notched eight digs and three assists, while freshman Matt Walsh tallied three block assists. Vander Meer also received 22 error-free shots, with senior Matt Sutherland received 23 for a .920 percentage.
Ball State suffered from 12 service errors and 17 attack errors compared to Lewis' seven service errors paired with 11 attack errors. Lewis also started out strong with only allowing one lead change through the first two sets, and although Ball State tried to power back by forcing five in the third set, they failed to gain the momentum needed to power through for a set win.
Saturday night, the Cardinals posted another 3-0 (19-25, 19-25, 20-25) loss when they traveled to Chicago, Ill. to take on defending national champion No. 1 Loyola. The match marks the Cardinals third sweep in a row and fourth of the season.
Leading the Cardinals offensively was Niemczewski with nine kills on 18 attempts for a .389 attack percentage, along with 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, Surane and junior Hiago Garchet tallied four digs, while Walsh tallied two block assists. Garchet also posted two block assists and 31 assists throughout the three-set match. Vander Meer received 22 error-free shots, while Cartagena marked 23 with a 1.000 reception rate.
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).
SCOUTING McKENDREE: The Bearcats are on a one match win streak after they swept King University last weekend, and hold a 5-10 overall record, with a 0-7 MIVA conference record. McKendree is a new opponent for Ball State, as the two teams have only held one game against each other. Last year in the Bearcats inaugural season, the Cardinals swept 3-0 at Worthen Arena. This year, top players for McKendree include Jared Wilcox who holds 167 kills and 12 aces, along with Wyatt Patterson, Brendan Schmidt and Maalik Walker, who all post over 100 kills. Schmidt has also recorded 56 total blocks and 41 digs, while Walker tallies 49 digs and 30 total blocks.
SCOUTING No. 12 OHIO STATE: The Buckeyes hold a 10-2 record on the season, including an undefeated 4-0 MIVA record. Ohio State holds the 81-91 advantage over Ball State, though the Cardinals are 35-29 at home that includes a current three match win streak over the Buckeyes. Standouts for Ohio State include both Nicolas Szerszen and Michael Henchy, who both post 20 aces a piece, while Szerszen also holds a team-high of 145 kills. The Buckeyes are riding on a seven match win streak, and have yet to play a five-set match.
Live Stats and Broadcast will be available for fans unable to attend this weekend's matchups at:
McKENDREE:
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
OHIO STATE:
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 head out on a 10 day road trip when they travel to Provo, Utah to take on Brigham Young University Feb. 27-28 followed by UC-Irvine and UC-San Diego on Mar. 6 and 7, respectively.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State men's volleyball action, follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateMVB on Twitter and Instagram.
