Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
3-3
Saint Francis
3-3
Men?s Volleyball Drops Five-Setter To Saint Francis
January 25, 2016 | Men's Volleyball
LORETTO, Pa. -- The No. 14 Ball State (3-3) men's volleyball team took on Saint Francis (3-3) Sunday afternoon instead of Saturday evening when the match was delayed due to the winter storm on the east coast. After a back and forth battle with the Flash, the Cardinals ultimately fell 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 25-21, 22-25, 13-15) at DeGol Arena.
After dropping the first set 25-21, the Cardinals rebounded to come out victorious in sets two and three with scores of 25-23 and 25-21, respectively. Saint Francis then snuck back with two narrow victories in the fourth and fifth sets to seal the match, with both wins coming in just by two points. The two teams battled through an astounding 48 tie scores as well as 21 lead changes over the course of the five-setter.
Topping the Ball State offense was junior Brendan Surane who notched 14 kills and one ace, as well as sophomore Mitch Weiler who stood out with 11 kills and four block assists. This is the fourth consecutive match in which Surane has tallied the team-high in kills.
Also at the net, senior Marcin Niemczewski downed eight attacks, while both junior Alex Pia and senior Jack Lesure tallied six a piece. Lesure also marked the second of Ball State's two service aces of the day.
Just as strong as the offensive lines, the Cardinals defense earned 13.0 total team blocks in the five-setter. Pia led the team with eight Flash attacks shut down, while sophomore Matt Walsh earned five block assists. Weiler led the team with 12 digs in addition to tallying 24 receptions, although Surane topped the charts with 31 receptions and a .912 reception percentage.
Junior Edgardo Cartagena got in on the action by posting a perfect reception percentage on 18 attacks faced, while the Cardinals freshman libero Adam Wessel marked 10 receptions with a 1.000 percent and two digs.
Although Ball State led Saint Francis in total team blocks (13.0-8.0) and digs (43-34), the Flash narrowly topped the Cardinals in attack percentage (.257-.252) and service aces (4-2).
The Cardinals will continue to tackle its six-match road stretch next weekend when it takes on NJIT on Jan. 29 in Newark, N.J. and George Mason on Jan. 30 in Fairfax, Va.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State men's volleyball action, follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateMVB on Twitter and Instagram.
