Ball State University Athletics
No. 10 Men's Volleyball To Face IPFW, No. 13 UC Irvine
March 15, 2016 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. – This week, the No. 10 Ball State (15-5, 8-1 MIVA) men's volleyball team will travel to Fort Wayne, Ind. on Wednesday evening to face Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association foe IPFW (5-12, 0-7 MIVA) at 7 p.m., followed by welcoming non-conference opponent No. 13 UC Irvine (7-13, 5-11 MPSF) to Worthen Arena on Sunday, March 20 at 2 p.m.
Last week, the Cardinals participated in an unconventional schedule by facing UCLA on Monday night, prior to hosting Mount Olive on Sunday afternoon. Ball State first fell to non-conference foe then-No. 4 UCLA in a 3-0 (19-25, 18-25, 20-25) sweep, before rising in a 3-1 (21-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-12) rebound Sunday afternoon to the Trojans.
Junior Mike 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, sophomore Matt Walsh matched junior Alex Pia by marking two block assists each.
When facing the Trojans on Sunday afternoon, Ball State earned its highest team attack percentage of the season to down the non-conference opponent. Despite dropping the first set, the Cardinals responded by hitting .420 and only let up two lead changes over the course of the four sets.
Surane dominated the offensive strike by leading the team with four kills in the second set as well as five kills in the second set, ultimately racking up a team-leading 13 kills with a .435 hitting percentage. Edgardo Cartagena got in on the action by downing eight attacks on a .615 percentage, while sophomore Mitch Weiler marked nine kills with a .438 hitting percentage.
The Cardinals hit its lowest team attack percentage of the match in the first set, while the Trojans posted a match-high to seal its lone victory by 25-21. Ball State surged back by hitting .688, .300 and .750 in the three consecutive set wins to post a season-high total of .420.
Nationally, Ball State remained ranked at No. 10, and is also ranked third overall in blocks per set with 2.94. In conference action, Ball State is second with its 8-1 record, while Ohio State tops the charts with a 9-1 record in MIVA play. Individually, Pia is third in the conference in blocks per set with 1.16, while Walsh is fourth with 1.15. Freshman libero Adam Wessel sits third in the conference with 2.34 digs per set as well.
SCOUTING IPFW: The Mastodons are currently 5-12 on the season, as well as 0-7 in MIVA action. After going on an eight-match losing streak, IPFW broke through with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-20) sweep of Charleston on March 5. Standouts include Andrew Sellan, who leads the conference in kills per set (4.36), as well as Luis Bertran who tops the conference in digs per set (2.72), although IPFW sits last in the conference standings. Sellan ranks third overall in the MIVA with 253 total kills, while Bertran is second with 163 total digs. Michael Keegan also makes an appearance in the MIVA standings with 9.62 assists per set. Ball State holds the all-time advantage over IPFW 67-29, including a 30-13 record at home and a 37-16 road mark, with the most recent matchup resulting in the Cardinals edging the Mastodons 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-18) on Feb. 11 in Muncie. 12 year assistant coach Ryan Perrotte is in his first year at the helm of the program, in lieu of long time IPFW head coach and Ball State alumni Arnie Ball's retirement at the end of the 2015 season.
SCOUTING No. 13 UC IRVINE: The west coast foe is coming off a recent victory of Ball State MIVA rival Lewis in the Asics Tournament last weekend in Long Beach, Calif., in which the Anteaters won 3-2. Currently 7-13 overall and 5-11 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play, UC Irvine standouts include Kyle Russell with 223 kills and Marty Ross with 62 total blocks. Ross ranks ninth in the nation with 1.19 blocks per set, while Russell leads the team with 28 of the Anteaters 92 service aces. This will be the Cardinals third MPSF opponent this season, with the others being then-No. 13 Stanford and then-No. 4 UCLA. A recent addition to the Ball State schedules, UC Irvine has swept the Cardinals the last two seasons, including the most recent 3-0 (16-25, 28-30, 18-25) decision on the road March 6, 2015, as well as a 3-0 (21-25, 16-25, 17-25) final Jan. 4, 2014 at home.
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 round action at home in Worthen Arena, first welcoming in MIVA rival Ohio State on March 25, followed by McKendree on March 26 for Senior Night.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State men's volleyball action, follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateMVB on Twitter and Instagram.
