Ball State University Athletics
Men's Volleyball Lines Up For IPFW Rematch
April 02, 2015 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State men's volleyball team (12-13, 5-8 MIVA) will continue with Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association action when they take on IPFW (16-9, 6-6 MIVA) for the second time this season on Saturday night in Fort Wayne, Ind. First serve between the Cardinals and the Mastodons is set for 7 p.m.
Last weekend, Ball State traveled and fell to No. 4 Lewis in a 3-0 (15-25, 22-25, 17-25) final on Thursday evening, followed by closing out MIVA play at home with a 3-0 (19-25, 18-25, 17-25) loss to No. 2 Loyola on Saturday night.
Against the Flyers, leading the Cardinals offensively was Edgardo Cartagena and Matt Walsh, with seven kills and three total blocks each, throughout the three-set match. Cartagena also posted a .917 reception percentage on 11 shots, while Walsh marked a .667 overall hitting percentage.
Defensively, sophomore Mike Scannell tallied five digs, in addition to senior libero David Ryan Vander Meer and setter Hiago Garchet notching four a piece. Senior Matt Sutherlandfaced an error-free 14 shots in the process of downing three kills, while Vander Meer received 17 for a .944 percentage.
Ball State suffered from 11 service errors and 21 attack errors compared to Lewis' 10 service errors paired with 14 attack errors. Lewis also closed out strong with allowing zero lead changes or tie scores through the last two sets, and although Ball State battled in the first set forcing 13 tied scores and two lead changes in the opening set, they failed to gain the momentum needed to power through for a set win.
The Flyers held the advantage in kills (37-30), attack percentage (.307 – .112), digs (26-22) and blocks (9.0-7.5), despite falling in total attacks to the Cardinals (80-75).
Saturday night against the defending national champion Loyola, Cartagena followed through with 13 kills on 28 attempts for a .286 attack percentage, along with Scannell who posted six kills and three block assists.
Defensively, Walsh marked three of his own block assists and Vander Meer tallied six digs. Garchet also posted three digs and 30 assists throughout the three-set match. Scannell received a team-high of 27 error-free shots, while Cartagena marked seven with a 1.000 reception rate.
Ball State suffered from 11 service errors and 15 attack errors compared to Loyola's 10 service errors paired with seven attack errors. Loyola also only allowed a total of five lead changes throughout the three sets.
The Ramblers held the advantage in kills (44-34), attack percentage (.468-.229), digs (26-20), and blocks (10.0-3.5), despite falling in total attacks to the Cardinals (83-79).
SCOUTING IPFW: The Hawks hold a 6-6 MIVA play record and hold a 16-9 overall record. Ball State holds the all-time advantage over IPFW 66-28, including a 37-15 record on the road, although most recently, IPFW was able to edge the Cardinals in Worthen Arena 3-2 (25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 19-25, 11-15) despite dropping to a two game deficit early on in the match on Feb. 5. This year, top players for the Mastodons include Andrew Sellan who holds 319 kills and 52 total blocks, along with Alex Harthaller who has claimed 263 kills and a team-high of 35 aces. Other standouts include Ramon Burgos who has earned 80 total blocks and Omar Rivera has posted 804 assists and 10.31 assists per set, which sits 10th nationally.
Live Stats, broadcast, and audio will be available for fans unable to attend this weekend's matchups at:
Live Broadcast: http://www.gomastodons.com/watch/?Live=326
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/ipfw/mvball/
Live Radio: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/ipfw/portal.htm?eventId=205136&streamType=audio
Looking ahead, the Ball State men's volleyball team will wrap up its regular season schedule when they travel to Ohio State on Thursday, Apr. 9 and to McKendree on Saturday, Apr. 11.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State men's volleyball action, follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateMVB on Twitter and Instagram.
