Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
19-6, 11-2MIVA
Quincy
17-20, 3-10MIVA
In a 3-0 Sweep, Men?s Volleyball Kicks Off Road Stretch With a W
April 02, 2016 | Men's Volleyball
QUINCY, Ill. – The No. 9 Ball State (19-6, 11-2 MIVA) men's volleyball team faced Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association foe Quincy (17-20, 3-10 MIVA) on the road Friday evening and improved to an 11-2 mark on the season in critical conference play with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 26-24) sweep.
Junior Brendan Surane led the Cardinals by racking up 14 kills over the course of the three sets, including five in the first game. In addition to Surane hitting a .462 percentage, Edgardo Cartagena notched seven kills with a .500 mark, while sophomore Matt Walsh got in on the action with a .857 attack percentage on six kills. The combination by the Cardinals offense ultimately led to a solid .387 team attack percentage, on the way to downing 37 kills on the Hawks.
The Ball State defense was just as powerful, holding Quincy to just a .167 hitting percentage. On the way to racking up 9.0 total team blocks, Surane jumped for four block assists, while junior Alex Pia led the team with seven total blocks. Freshman libero Adam Wessel tallied nine digs, while Cartagena took on eight, rounding out the defensive action by Ball State.
While the Cardinals opened with its strongest attack in the first set at .591, the Hawks battled back to reach their highest percentage of .270 in the third game to force the sweep to be taken by extra points. It was ultimately Cartagena who downed the final attack on an assist by senior Hiago Garchet, one of the setter's 28 on the night.
The Cardinals held the edge over the Hawks in aces (3-0), digs (33-26) and total team blocks (9.0-3.0) in addition to taking advantage of Quincy's 21 attacking errors at the net.
The Cardinals will continue with road action as it takes on MIVA opponent Lindenwood tomorrow evening in St. Charles, Mo. First serve is set for 7 p.m. central time.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State men's volleyball action, follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateMVB on Twitter and Instagram.
