Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
14-4
Grand Canyon
10-8
Grand Canyon Edges Men?s Volleyball On The Road
March 06, 2016 | Men's Volleyball
PHOENIX, Ariz. – After stretching to an 11 match win streak, the No. 8 Ball State (14-4, 8-1 MIVA) men's volleyball team fell to Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association foe Grand Canyon (10-9, 3-6 MIVA) Saturday evening in a five-set heartbreaker. 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.
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 junior Mike 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.
The Ball State squad was also consistent in its attacking efforts in four of the five sets by posting hitting percentages between .323-.364 with the exception of the second set's negative mark. Comparatively, the Cardinals defense was also successful by holding the 'Lopes to attack percentages between .071-.182 throughout the first four sets, although Grand Canyon sealed the upset by posting an aggressive .526 percentage in the final game.
Leading the Ball State defense for the second night in a row was MIVA Defensive Player of the Week sophomore Matt Walsh, as he shut down eight Grand Canyon attacks. Walsh teamed up at the net with junior Alex 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.
The Cardinals held the edge in nearly every statistical category, including attack percentage (.237-.184), digs (43-42) total team blocks (18.0-10.5) and held to just 24 attacking errors, compared to Grand Canyon's 31. The 'Lopes significantly benefitted from earning five aces on the night, whereas Ball State failed to get one down on GCU, in addition to holding a slight advantage in kills (59-56).
The matchup was far from lopsided though, as the pair of conference rivals battled through 38 tie scores and 11 lead changes over the course of the extended five-setter. While Grand Canyon sacrificed eight lead changes in its three set wins, the Cardinals only allowed three total between the third and fourth set wins.
Ball State will return to non-conference play and will round out its spring break road trip when it faces the highest ranked team thus far in the season in No. 4 UCLA Monday evening in Los Angeles, Calif., prior to welcoming Mount Olive to Worthen Arena on Sunday, March 13 for a 2 p.m. matinee matchup.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State men's volleyball action, follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateMVB on Twitter and Instagram.
