Ball State University Athletics
Men's Volleyball Lines Up For BYU
February 26, 2015 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The No. 13 Ball State men's volleyball team (9-5, 4-3 MIVA) will commence road trip action Friday and Saturday when it takes on nonconference No. 4 Brigham Young University (11-3, 10-2 MPSF) in Provo, Utah. Both matches are set for 7 p.m.
Last weekend, Ball State continued MIVA play at home against McKendree, and ultimately rebounded from a four match losing streak when it served up a narrow 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-23) sweep Friday evening.
Junior Marcin Niemczewski topped the Cardinal offense with a recorded 17 kills on a .517 attack percentage while racking up six digs throughout the match. He was joined in the ranks by senior Matt Sutherland who tallied 16 kills for a .300 attack percentage while he also posted four digs on the night. Niemczewski also downed one ace while Sutherland took on 24 receptions with a .960 percentage and four digs.
Sophomore Brendan Surane served up two of four Ball State service aces in the match, with Sutherland and freshman Matt Walsh marking the others. At the net, Walsh and Surane stopped four attacks each, with one solo block and three block assists a piece.
Ball State and McKendree held a tight match in the stat books, with each team posting a .359 and .333 attack percentage, respectively. Ball State held the advantage in kills (48-39) and blocks (10.5-6.0), despite falling in digs to the Bearcats (24-19). The Cardinals balanced between 13 lead changes through the course of the night and narrowly fell in overall attack errors with 15 errors to McKendree's 13.
Saturday night, the Cardinals rounded out the weekend action with an upset win over No. 12 Ohio State (12-2, 5-1 MIVA). The Cardinals continued the border state rivalry with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-23) victory at Worthen Arena, making it Ohio State's first conference loss of the season.
A well rounded Ball State team held Ohio State to a .132 overall attack percentage throughout the three games, while the Cardinals posted .298. This was with the help of Niemczewski who finished with 10 kills and six blocks, as well as Surane who held seven kills. Surane rocked a .875 attack percentage, five blocks and one ace, while Niemczewski tallied six digs and one ace.
Defensively, freshman Walsh tallied up seven block assists and one solo, while Witmer marked nine error-free serves and a .870 reception percentage on 20 shots.
SCOUTING BRIGHAM YOUNG: The Cougars are on a three match win streak after they beat No. 9 Long Beach State 3-0 and 3-1 last weekend, and hold an 11-3 overall record, including a 10-2 conference record. 10 of the first 14 games on the BYU schedule were against teams ranked in the top 10 national polls, leading into No. 13 Ball State. BYU holds the all-time advantage over the Cardinals 8-4, including a 6-1 record on home court, with the most recent match taking place in February of 2005. Nationally, Ball State sits in second in blocks per set with 3.18, while the Cougars narrowly follow in third at 3.12. Standouts include Jake Langlois who holds 141 kills in 40 sets, while he is assisted by setter Tyler Heap who tallies 229 assists and marks 8.48 assists per set. Both Michael Hatch and Joe Grosh hold over 60 total blocks each, while Kiril Meretev has a team-leading seven aces on the season.
Both matches this week will be broadcast live on BYUtv and simulcast on BYU Radio – Sirius XM 143. Links to live stats and a video feed can be found on the BYU men's volleyball schedule page.
Looking ahead, the Ball State men's volleyball team will round out the 10 day road trip when they take on 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.
