Ball State University Athletics
Busy Three-Match Week Ahead For Men's Volleyball
March 17, 2015 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The No. 14 Ball State men's volleyball team (11-9, 5-4 MIVA) will continue action in a busy three-match week. Wednesday, Ball State will host Princeton (8-5, 4-1 EIVA) in Worthen Arena, followed by Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association opponents Lindenwood (7-7, 2-5 MIVA) Friday and Quincy (10-8, 3-6 MIVA) Saturday. Wednesday's first serve will take place at 7:30 p.m. eastern time, while the weekend's matches are scheduled for 7 p.m. central time.
Last weekend, the Cardinals marked its second five-set loss of the season Friday night in a narrow 3-2 (24-26, 26-24, 25-21, 19-25, 10-15) heartbreaker to MIVA opponent Grand Canyon (12-7, 4-5 MIVA).
Ball State came out strong, battling for extra points in the first two sets and opened with an attack percentage of .346 in the first set, while the 'Lopes marked .379. Grand Canyon then turned it around to cinch the final two games with only a total of 9 attacking errors and posting an overall .226 attack percentage to the Cardinals .146 overall.
All games were back-and-forth, with 11 lead changes through the first three games, while the entire fourth and fifth set held Grand Canyon in the lead consistently. The teams also fought through 30 tie scores in the five sets.
The offensive spotlight was held by junior Marcin Niemczewski when he posted four of the Cardinals seven overall aces, which sits tied for fourth highest in Ball State all-time rally-scoring records in a five set match. Niemczewski also posted a team-high of 11 kills, paired with four block assists.
The Cardinals' stats were overall very similar to the 'Lopes throughout the five-set match. Ball State held the advantage in blocks (16.0-15.0), digs (40-36), and aces (7-4), despite falling in kills (60-49), attack percentage (.226-.146) and attack errors (29-30) to the Antelopes. Ball State suffered from 11 service errors and 30 attack errors compared to Grand Canyon's 17 service errors paired with 29 attack errors.
Saturday night, Ball State rebounded from Friday night's loss when it earned a 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-23) sweep over Grand Canyon Saturday evening.
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.
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.
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.
SCOUTING PRINCETON: The Tigers sit at an 8-5 overall record, heading into a road trip including action with Ohio State and Ball State this week. Princeton is a relatively new opponent for the Cardinals as the two teams have only met twice in program history, with both matches taking place in Princeton, New Jersey. On Mar. 12, 2011 Ball State swept Princeton 3-0 and notched a 3-2 victory on Feb. 8, 2013. Standouts for the Tigers include Cody Kessel, who holds 173 kills through 40 sets and a team-leading 19 aces, along with Junior Oboh, who marks the team-high of both 11 solo blocks and 36 block assists.
SCOUTING LINDENWOOD: The Lions hold a 7-7 record on the season and will kick off a nine-match MIVA stretch beginning with the Ball State action this weekend. Colin Hackworth leads the team with 176 kills and 26 of the team's 72 serving aces, while Connor Metcalfe holds 351 assists throughout 37 sets. Hackworth also leads the team in sets played, making an appearance in 51 of Lindenwood's 52 sets of the season. Logan Jarus leads defensive lines, posting 52 total blocks and 1.04 blocks per set, while brother of Ball State's Austin Overby, Kyle Overby tallies 59 digs and 1.18 digs per set. Lindenwood is a fairly recent addition to both the MIVA and the Cardinals schedule, with Ball State holding a 9-1 overall record with the Lions. Ball State is also undefeated at home (5-0) against Lindenwood, although the lone Cardinals loss came on the Lions home court in St. Charles, Mo. on April, 14, 2012.
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 18-2, including an 11-1 record at home and 7-1 record on the road. Of the 17 overall wins, the Cardinals have swept the Hawks 11 times. Most recently, Ball State swept Quincy at Worthen Arena January 30, 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-14). This year, top players for the Hawks include Jarrod Kelso who holds 157 kills with a .409 attack percentage, and Jack Gamache who has claimed 154 kills and 21 serving aces. Kelso is also the only player for Quincy to have played in all 67 sets this season.
Live Stats and Broadcast will be available for fans unable to attend this weekend's matchups at:
PRINCETON:
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://portal.stretchinternet.com/lindenwood2/
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/lindenwood/mvball/
QUINCY:
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/quincy/mvball/
Looking ahead, the Ball State men's volleyball team will continue MIVA play on Thursday, Mar. 26 at Lewis, followed by the hosting of Loyola on Saturday, Mar. 28. The Loyola match will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Worthen Arena, and the team will be holding a senior night presentation prior to the start of the match.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State men's volleyball action, follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateMVB on Twitter and Instagram.
