Ball State University Athletics
Men's Volleyball Looks To Extend Win Streak As It Hosts MIVA Foes
February 23, 2016 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The No. 9 Ball State (11-3, 5-0 MIVA) men's volleyball team will look to extend its eight match win streak as it rounds out action in a six-match home stand in Worthen Arena by welcoming Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association opponents Quincy (8-12, 2-5 MIVA) on Feb. 25, followed by Lindenwood (2-9, 0-5 MIVA) Feb. 26.
Last weekend, the Cardinals continued to roll on its hot streak by downing two-time defending national champion No. 8 Loyola with a 3-1 (26-24, 25-23, 20-25, 25-23) final in Worthen Arena. The Cardinals followed it up with a hard-fought 3-2 (25-23, 25-22, 17-25, 16-25, 15-12) victory over No. 14 Lewis to remain undefeated in the conference.
In the Wednesday night upset, junior Mike Scannell topped the Ball State box score with 11 kills, one block assist and one of the Cardinals two service aces. The victory marks the first time since April 17, 2010 that Ball State has inched past the Ramblers, with the win also occurring at home.
The Cardinals held the edge in attack percentage (.204-.160) and blocks (9.0-8.0), although the Ramblers tallied more aces (3-2) and kills (56-48), with both teams standing square with 49 digs. Ultimately, the teams battled through 31 tie scores as well as 14 lead changes before the Cardinals pulled ahead with the upset.
Individually, defensive standouts included freshman libero Adam Wessel who earned a season-high of 18 digs, while both junior Alex Pia and sophomore Matt Walsh notched four total blocks. Walsh also earned the second Ball State ace, while the entire defensive squad pressured the Ramblers throughout the four sets.
On Thursday evening, Scannell continued to top the attack for the Cardinals as he earned 14 kills on the night, including five in each of the first two sets, making it the fourth consecutive match in which Scannell has topped the Ball State offense. Junior Brendan Surane tallied 13 kills of his own, while sophomore Mitch Weiler marked 12 and Walsh notched nine. Weiler had the honor of closing out the evening on a positive note by downing back-to-back kills from set ups by senior setter Hiago Garchet.
The five-setter did not disappoint in the blocking game, as the Cardinals defended 15.0 total team blocks, while the Flyers jumped for 13.5. Pia led the Cardinals for the fourth consecutive match with seven block assist on the night, while Weiler stopped seven and Walsh earned six.
Other standout stats of the night included Surane's four service aces, a feat that is openly a season-high for the junior outside attack and accounted for two-thirds of the Cardinals aces. Wessel also topped the Ball State defense for the second night in a row with 12 digs.
Nationally, Ball State dramatically improved this week from a 12th-ranking to No. 9, the highest of the season thus far, and is also ranked third overall in blocks per set with 2.72. In conference action, Ball State is the lone team to remain undefeated, as the Cardinals are currently 5-0 in MIVA play.
Individually, Pia is fourth overall in the conference with 1.13 blocks per set, while Wessel holds a 2.47 digs per set average, placing him third overall in the MIVA as well.
SCOUTING QUINCY: The Hawks are currently 8-12 on the season and hold a 2-5 record in MIVA action, with the conference wins coming in the form of a 3-1 final over Grand Canyon and a 3-0 sweep of Lindenwood. Since 2007, Ball State holds the advantage over Quincy 18-3, including an 11-1 record at home and 7-2 record on the road. Of the 18 overall wins, the Cardinals have swept the Hawks 11 times. Most recently, Ball State fell to the Hawks in an extensive 3-2 (27-29, 18-25, 37-35, 30-28, 9-15) final on the road March 21, 2015. This year's top standout for the Hawks includes Jarrod Kelso, who leads the team with 155 kills and an astounding 64.5 total blocks, leading to a Quincy team total of 147.5 blocks. Kelso is fourth in the conference with his kill count, while Chris Chappelle is fifth overall with 93 digs on the season.
SCOUTING LINDENWOOD: The Lions hold a 2-9 record on the season, including a 0-5 mark in conference play. The two wins of the season came after the Lions downed Carthage College and Grand View College in a pair of 3-0 sweeps. Ryan Moore leads the team with 118 kills and 33 of the team's serving aces, while Adam Brewster holds 215 assists throughout 27 sets. Connor Hipelius leads the team in sets played, making an appearance in all 36 of Lindenwood's sets of the season and has tallied a team-high of 29 total blocks. Lindenwood is a fairly recent addition to both the MIVA and the Cardinals schedule, with Ball State holding a 9-2 overall record with the Lions. Ball State is also undefeated at home (5-0) against Lindenwood, although both of the Cardinals' losses came on the Lions home court in St. Charles, Mo. on April, 14, 2012 and March 21, 2015. While two seniors return to the Lindenwood roster, five freshmen scatter the court for the Lions, making them a relatively young opponent.
Live stats and broadcast will be available for fans unable to attend the matchups at:
Live Stats: http://www.ballstatesports.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=14200&LIST_SPORT__VOLLEYBALL
Live Broadcast: http://www.ballstatesports.com/liveEvents/liveEvents.dbml?SPID=7635&DB_OEM_ID=14200&db_oem_id=14200
Looking ahead, the Ball State men's volleyball team will hit the road for a three-match stretch as it takes on Grand Canyon twice and UCLA over spring break.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State men's volleyball action, follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateMVB on Twitter and Instagram.
