Ball State University Athletics
Men's Volleyball Kicks Off Four-Match Road Stint
March 31, 2016 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. – The No. 9 Ball State (18-6, 10-2 MIVA) men's volleyball team will face Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association foes Quincy (17-19, 3-9 MIVA) and Lindenwood (4-14, 2-10 MIVA) on the road this week. The Cardinals will take on the Hawks on Friday, April 1 in Quincy, Ill., followed by the Lions on April 2 in St. Charles, Mo.
Last week, the Cardinals improved to 10-2 in conference play when it welcomed both No. 1 Ohio State and McKendree to Worthen Arena. On Friday night, despite the Cardinals racking up 13.5 blocks against the Buckeyes, Ohio State sealed the win 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-25) to take first place in the MIVA conference.
The Ball State blocking game stole the show at critical points in the first set, holding the Cardinals even with the top team in the nation at five different points. Ball State then took advantage of the numerous Ohio State attacking errors in the second set on the way to the lone Cardinal game victory of the night. In the third set, Junior Alex Pia shortened the Buckeye advantage when he jumped for back-to-back block assists, closing the score to just a 23-22 edge, although Ohio State was ultimately able to settle its second set victory of the night on a Cardinal attacking error.
Last week's MIVA Offensive Player of the Week, junior Brendan Surane lived up to the honor by tallying a team-high of 13 kills on the night. Pia was a powerhouse for both the offensive and defensive lines by totaling six kills with a .545 attack percentage in addition to seven block assists. Sophomore Mitch Weiler matched Pia's blocking game by putting up a total of seven blocks in addition to nine kills.
In addition to a special Senior Night recognition session for Hiago Garchet, Jack Lesure and Marcin Niemczewski on Saturday night, the Cardinals posted a 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-20, 25-22) victory over McKendree to improve to 10-2 in conference play. All three seniors started the first set, creating a strong dynamic going into the MIVA matchup.
Niemczewski ultimately led the Cardinals offensive lines by racking up 14 kills on the night with a .312 hitting percentage, while Weiler jumped for 12 kills with a .286 percentage. Niemczewski also marked one of the three Ball State aces of the night, while Lesure and sophomore Matt Walsh each earned one a piece.
Defensively, Walsh led the team by stopping McKendree attacks on six occasions with block assists, while Weiler topped the Cardinal charts with seven digs on the night. Although each of the four games were narrow, it was major blocks and defensive pressure that ultimately led to the Ball State win.
Nationally, Ball State remained at a No. 9 ranking from last week. The Cardinals are also ranked second overall in blocks per set with 2.90, while Pia sits eighth in the nation with 1.21 blocks per set and Walsh is 10th with 1.15. In conference action, Ball State second with a 10-2 record, just behind Ohio State. Individually, Pia is second in the conference in blocks per set with 1.21, while Walsh is fifth with 1.15. Freshman libero Adam Wessel sits fourth in the conference with 168 total digs, as well as fifth with 2.21 digs per set.
SCOUTING QUINCY: The Hawks hold a 3-9 mark in conference play, with wins coming in over Grand Canyon, Lindenwood, IPFW earlier this season. Since 2007, Ball State holds the advantage over Quincy 19-3, including an 11-1 record at home and 8-2 record on the road. Of the 19 overall wins, the Cardinals have swept the Hawks 12 times, including a 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-18) win at home earlier this season. In the conference, Quincy stands out with Jerrod Kelso, who sits third overall with 282 total kills, as well as Chris Chappelle, who ranks fifth overall with 162 total digs. The Hawks will come in with some momentum, as they are currently on a two match win streak of Missouri Baptist.
SCOUTING LINDENWOOD: The Lions earned their two conference wins by downing both IPFW and Quincy earlier this season. Lindenwood is a fairly recent addition to both the MIVA and the Cardinals schedule, with Ball State holding a 10-2 overall record with the Lions. Ball State is also undefeated at home (6-0) 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. Earlier this season, Ball State downed Lindenwood at home in Worthen with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-15) final on Feb. 26. In the MIVA, Ryan Moore is fifth overall with 3.30 kills per set, Ryan Vorderer ranks second overall with 2.38 digs per set, while Michael Chard has jumped for a 0.37 blocks per set average, ranking fifth overall in the conference.
Live stats and broadcast will be available for fans unable to attend the matchups at:
Live Stats vs Quincy: http://www.sidearmstats.com/quincy/mvball/
Live Stats vs Lindenwood: http://www.sidearmstats.com/lindenwood/mvball/
Live Broadcast vs Lindenwood: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/lindenwood2/
Looking ahead, the Ball State men's volleyball team will round out the regular season by facing Lewis on April 8 and Loyola on April 9 in MIVA action on the road.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State men's volleyball action, follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateMVB on Twitter and Instagram.
