Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
12-9 (5-4MIVA)
Princeton
8-7 (4-1EIVA)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton | 24 | 25 | 22 | 25 | 18 | 2 |
| Ball State | 26 | 15 | 25 | 23 | 20 | 3 |
Men?s Volleyball Battles for 3-2 Win Over Princeton
March 19, 2015 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The No. 14 Ball State (12-9, 5-4 MIVA) men's volleyball team battled for a 3-2 (26-24, 15-25, 25-22, 23-25, 20-18) win over Princeton (8-7, 4-1 EIVA) Wednesday evening in Worthen Arena. With the hard fought win, Ball State remains undefeated against Princeton in the all-time series 3-0, including a new 1-0 record at home.
A well rounded Ball State team pushed Princeton to extra points in two of the five games, along with settling two other sets within a three point gap. This was with the help of junior Marcin Niemczewski who finished with 16 kills and sophomore Mike Scannell with 13 kills. Niemczewski also racked up eight digs, two blocks and one ace, while Scannell held four blocks and a .892 percentage on 33 shot receptions.
“I'm proud of my guys for stepping up and pushing through,” Ball State men's volleyball head coach Joel Walton said. “We went back and forth a lot tonight, and it was a good team effort when we did some different things. I knew it was going to be close and we would have to fight for it, so it was great to finish it out with the win.”
While Princeton marked an outstanding attack percentage of .433 in the fifth set, Ball State upped it with an attack percentage of .440. It was a huge turnaround for the Cardinals after starting at a .267 in the first, then dramatically dropping to a .077 in the second. Overall though, the Tigers averaged a .344 attack percentage, topping Ball State who marked a .270.
Defensively, senior libero David Ryan Vander Meer received 29 shots with 11 digs and marked his first kill of the season. Sophomore Brendan Surane boasted six block assists in addition to downing two of the four Ball State aces on the night, while junior setter Hiago Garchet posted an outstanding 48 assists on 102 sets, while also jumping for five block assists. Surane also marked 12 kills on a .625 attack percentage, and Garchet lined up for a team-high of 23 serves, posting an overall serving percentage of .957.
“It was good to show we have a winning team mentality on the court and that we don't live off six players out there,” Garchet said. “It was a really long match and when the rallies are long it is even worse, but we've been practicing hard and doing a good job in conditioning and playing together. Overall, I think it was hard but we were able to overcome that.”
The two teams grinded through 23 lead changes and 45 tied scores, and the Cardinals' stats were just as similar to the Tigers over the course of the extensive five-set match. Ball State held the advantage in blocks (12.0-8.0) and digs (37-33), despite falling in kills (68-54), attack percentage (.344-.270) and aces (7-4) to Princeton. Ball State suffered from 16 service errors and 23 attack errors compared to the Tigers' 27 service errors paired with 23 attack errors.
The stand out of Princeton came from a dominating Cody Kessel who marked 23 kills, five digs, and two blocks. Kessel held down the Tigers' offense with Junior Oboh who tallied 21 kills on a .613 attack percentage, along with four blocks.
“Being able to get the win without a few key guys just shows the depth of our team and that we can put anybody out there and get the win,” Surane mentioned. “With two guys hurt, we are working even harder because all of the guys realize they must do whatever they can in practice and games to do the best they can for the team.”
The Ball State men's volleyball team will continue to tackle their busy three-match week when they take on Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association opponents Lindenwood Friday evening, followed by Quincy on Saturday at 7 p.m. central time.
“Every single one of our upcoming conference matches is very important because it's going to affect the conference tournament,” Walton went on. “We are just trying to improve our position in the regular season standings and get the best possible seed going into the MIVA tournament in the coming weeks.”
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State men's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateMVB on Twitter and Instagram.
