Ball State University Athletics
Men's Volleyball Looks To Rebound By Hosting Mount Olive
March 11, 2016 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The No. 10 Ball State (14-5, 8-1 MIVA) men's volleyball team looks to rebound from two road losses as it welcomes non-conference opponent Mount Olive (8-6, 7-3 CC) to Worthen Arena on Sunday, March 13 for a 2 p.m. match.
Last weekend, the Cardinals took on Grand Canyon in a pair of Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association matches in which the team's split, followed by falling to No. 4 UCLA on Monday night in Los Angeles, Calif.
In a five set battle Friday evening, Ball State extended its win streak to 11 in a row when it downed Grand Canyon in a 3-2 (20-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-19, 15-13) final. The Cardinals crashed the net with 15.0 total team blocks and held a consistent .264 total team attack percentage.
Sophomore Matt Walsh matched junior Alex Pia and tallied seven block assists to lead the Cardinals. Junior Mike Scannell got in on the action by jumping for six block assists, while senior Marcin Niemczewski marked the lone solo Ball State block of the night and two block assists. The Cardinals racked up a significant 15.0 total blocks, although Grand Canyon was just as competitive defensively by earning 10.0 blocks on their side of the net as well.
On Saturday night, despite racking up 18.0 total team blocks, the Cardinals fell in a narrow 3-2 (25-27, 20-25, 25-22, 25-19, 13-15) rebound to suffer its first conference loss of the season to the 'Lopes.
Although Ball State fell short of the 'Lopes in the first two sets, the Cardinals battled back by claiming strong 25-22 and 25-19 victories to force a fifth game. The fourth set win was in large part due to Scannell contributing six kills, ultimately leading to a team-high of 15 on the night. In addition to Scannell's offensive efforts, sophomore Mitch Weiler downed 11 kills, including four in the fourth set.
Leading the Ball State defense for the second night in a row was Walsh, as he shut down eight Grand Canyon attacks. Walsh teamed up at the net with Pia, who also marked eight bock assists on the night, while junior Connor Gross stood out by earning a notable six blocks over the course of his four sets played. Freshman libero Adam Wessel led the team with 13 digs, while Scannell took on an astounding 32 receptions with a .941 percentage.
Ball State then rounded out its west coast trip by falling to non-conference foe No. 4 UCLA (18-3, 13-3 MPSF) in a 3-0 (19-25, 18-25, 20-25) sweep.
Scannell opened the first set with seven kills, on his way to totaling to a team-high of 12 and leading the Cardinals for the second consecutive match. Junior Brendan Surane got in on the offensive action by marking seven total kills, while senior setter Hiago Garchet earned the lone Ball State service ace in addition to racking up 27 assists over the course of the three sets. Garchet also squared up and tallied 12 error-free serves on the night, while at the net, Walsh matched Pia by marking two block assists each.
Nationally, Ball State dropped this week from an 8th-place ranking to No. 10 and is also ranked third overall in blocks per set with 2.85.
Individually in the conference, Pia is second overall with 1.15 blocks per set, with Walsh trailing in fourth in the conference with 1.14 blocks per set. Wessel holds a 2.42 digs per set average, placing him third overall in the MIVA as well, in addition to being fourth in total digs with 133.
SCOUTING MOUNT OLIVE: The Trojans are currently 8-6 on the season and hold a 7-3 record in Conference Carolina action. Over the last four seasons, Ball State has claimed the win over Mount Olive on all four occasions, including two sweeps of the Trojans. This year's top standout for Mount Olive includes sophomore Peyton Schirman, who tallies 168 kills and 10 aces, while junior Andrew Sydow marks 35 total blocks. Sophomore Jeff Yasalonis leads the Trojans with 489 of the team's 538 assists, helping him rank eighth in the nation with 10.57 assists per set. There are just two seniors leading Mount Olive, along with seven new freshman to the squad under fourth-year head coach David Heller.
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 face IPFW in non-conference action on Wednesday, March 16, prior to welcoming UC Irvine to Worthen Arena on Sunday, March 20 for a 2 p.m. non-conference matchup.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State men's volleyball action, follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateMVB on Twitter and Instagram.
