Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
13-3 (7-0MIVA)
Lindenwood
2-10 (0-6MIVA)
Niemczewski Leads Men?s Volleyball To Ten Match Win Streak
February 27, 2016 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The No. 9 Ball State (13-3, 7-0 MIVA) men's volleyball team extended its win streak to 10 in a row on Friday evening with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-15) sweep of Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association opponent Lindenwood (2-10, 0-6 MIVA).
Helping the Cardinals to remain undefeated in conference play was senior Marcin Niemczewski, as he led the team with 12 kills, two blocks and downed all three of Ball State's service aces. The three aces, two of which were back-to-back early in the first set, are a new season-high for the Vernon Hills, Ill. native, while the 12 kills ties his second best of the season.
“I don't think I can say that one player has impressed me more than others and I think that is why our team has played so well through this early part of the season. We're getting different performances from different players on given nights,” Ball State men's volleyball head coach Joel Walton said. “Keeping Niemczewski fresh yesterday and having him ready to go tonight worked out well for us. He played a great match. Both his offense and his serves were critical for us.”
Defensively, sophomore Matt Walsh followed up last night's 10 block performance with an additional seven blocks against the Lions, leading the Cardinals to a team block total of 10.5 on the night. Walsh teamed up at the net with sophomore Mitch Weiler, who stopped six Lindenwood attacks, as well as junior Alex Pia, who jumped for two.
Freshman libero Adam Wessel took on the Lions attack by facing 11 receptions and tallied eight digs, although the Ball State defense pressured Lindenwood to sacrifice 34 attacking errors, while the Cardinals held to just 12.
Ultimately, Ball State held the edge in attack percentage (.200, -.115), digs (25-19), and total team blocks (10.5-3.0), although the teams were square in kills (24) and aces (3).
“I liked our defense, holding a team to a negative hitting percentage is some pretty stellar defense. Our serving I thought was very good tonight at times and put a lot of pressure on them as well,” Coach Walton added. “I'm proud of our guys coming through the first couple of months because the road stretch that we had in January was difficult and they really responded and fought through the matches. We just have to take each match as it comes and prepare for whoever that next opponent is.”
Looking ahead, the Ball State men's volleyball team will hit the road to take on Grand Canyon in a pair of MIVA conference matches on March 4 and 5, followed by non-conference foe UCLA on March 7. The Cardinals will then return back to Worthen Arena to host UC Irvine on March 13.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State men's volleyball action, follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateMVB on Twitter and Instagram.
