Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
11-9 (5-4MIVA)
Grand Canyon
12-8 (4-6MIVA)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Canyon | 16 | 19 | 23 | 0 |
| Ball State | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Men?s Volleyball Rebounds In A Sweep Of Grand Canyon
March 15, 2015 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The No. 12 Ball State (11-9, 5-4 MIVA) men's volleyball team rebounded from Friday night's loss when it served up a 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-23) sweep to Grand Canyon (12-8, 4-6 MIVA) Saturday evening in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association play.
Sophomore Mike Scannell dominated the Cardinals' statistics, tallying a team-high of 20 error-free receptions in the process of earning 13 points. Scannell also recorded 12 kills with a .440 attack percentage, five digs, and one ace on the night.
“We were very impressed not only with how Scannell attacked tonight, but he also did a good job passing,” Ball State men's volleyball head coach Joel Walton said. “He really put our offense in good places and gave us a chance to move the ball around quite a bit.”
Other Ball State standouts included sophomore Brendan Surane who marked 12 kills and seven digs, freshman Matt Walsh who posted six kills and four block assists, and senior Julian Welsh-White who recorded hitting and serving percentages of 1.000. Sophomore Alex Pia held the second ace of the night, while Welsh-White rounded out the third from Ball State in the three-set match.
“I felt like coming into this week's action, with us coming back from an 11-day trip from the west coast, our guys were a little bit weary,” Walton went on. “We needed to make some kind of change. Surane did a good job, and Mitch Weiler did a great job coming off the bench in a rough situation. Overall, our float servers did really well against them. They disrupted them more than anything and that's what we like to see.”
Weiler marked three kills and a .500 attack percentage after stepping on the court late in the third set. He was assisted by junior setter Hiago Garchet, who improved from a setting percentage of .362 yesterday, to a .418 percentage with 38 assists in tonight's match.
“I think the big change in our team from yesterday to today was the energy,” Scannell said. “Yesterday we seemed a little low on energy and tonight there was a lot of energy and a lot of having fun. Hiago really started pushing the ball around so we started connecting. It's not just one guy playing well out there, I think everyone was playing well, and that's the best part about volleyball. It all worked out tonight.”
Ball State benefitted from Grand Canyon's .170 attack percentage, while the Cardinals held a .280 overall. Ball State also held the advantage in kills (44-36) and total attacks (107-100), despite falling in digs (39-37) and blocks (11.0-7.0) to the 'Lopes. The Cardinals only forfeited 10 lead changes through the course of the night and kept a clean attack with only 14 errors to Grand Canyon's 19, although both teams had to battle through 20 tie scores over the course of the evening.
“Monday we're going to have a good practice, which will give us momentum going into the rest of the week,” Scannell said. “As long as we keep that energy up and keep having fun out there, we'll keep doing well. When everybody is clicking, everybody plays better, so it's a whole team aspect.”
The Ball State men's volleyball team will continue play in Worthen Arena on Wednesday, Mar. 18 when they host Princeton for the first time in Ball State men's volleyball history. First serve is set for 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.
