Men’s Volleyball Will Look to Continue Win Streak On Spring Break Trip

Match One
#11 Ball State at UC San Diego
Saturday, Mar. 3 (10 p.m. ET)
La Jolla, Calif.
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Match Two
#11 Ball State at #13 Concordia Irvine
Wednesday, Mar. 7 (10 p.m. ET)
Irvine, Calif.
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Match Three
#11 Ball State at UC Irvine
Thursday, Mar. 8 (10 p.m. ET)
Irvine, Calif.
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Match Four
#11 Ball State at #15 UC Santa Barbara
Saturday, Mar. 10 (10 p.m. ET)
Santa Barbara, Calif.
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MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men's volleyball team will spend their Spring Break on the west coast as they take on four California schools. The Cardinals will kick off the trip with a stop at UC San Diego on Saturday, Mar. 3. Next, Ball State will take on 13^th ranked Concordia Irvine on Wednesday, Mar. 7. The third match of the week will be against UC Irvine. Ball State will round out the trip with a battle against No. 15 UC Santa Barbara.

The Cardinals go into this trip with a four match win streak after taking down Lewis, Loyola-Chicago, Quincy and Lindenwood. This win streak helped Ball State move into the 11^th spot in the AVCA Coaches Poll.

Scouting UC San Diego:

The Tritons come into the match against the Cardinals with an 8-7 record, 0-1 in the Big West. UC San Diego has lost six of their last seven matches, including one loss to MIVA member McKendree. The Tritons have taken on the Bearcats twice in the season, losing one and winning one. UC San Diego has also taken on Lindenwood, taking down the Lions 3-1.

Ball State is undefeated (7-0) all-time against the Tritons. The most recent meeting between the two teams was last season on a neutral site in Columbus, Ohio. The Cardinals won that match in a sweep. Matt Szews had 10 kills, nine digs and one service ace in that contest. Matt Walsh also notched 10 kills along with two aces and three blocks. Prior to last season's meeting, the two teams hadn't played since the 2015 season.

Scouting Concordia Irvine:

Concordia Irvine currently sits in the 13^th spot in the AVCA Coaches' Poll with a record of 8-6. The Eagles will have to take on a second ranked Hawaii team twice (Mar. 2 and Mar. 4) before taking on the Cardinals. Big wins for the Eagles include CSUN, Grand Canyon, Stanford, UC San Diego, and Southern California.

This is the first meeting between Ball State and the Eagles. Concordia Irvine kicked off their men's volleyball season in 2013 as a member of the NAIA. The Eagles become part of the NCAA in 2016.

Scouting UC Irvine:

UC Irvine will welcome Ball State into their home arena with an 11-4 overall record. The Anteaters have already taken down a two MIVA teams in Lewis (3-0) and Loyola-Chicago (3-1). The UC Irvine squad will take on Fort Wayne prior to playing Ball State. Other notable wins by the Anteaters were Southern California, Pepperdine, Grand Canyon, BYU and Stanford. The four losses came at the hands of UCLA (two losses), Pepperdine and Hawaii.

The Anteaters lead the all-time series, 5-4. The first meeting between the two teams was in 1992. Ball State won the first three meetings before UC Irvine took the next four. The most recent meeting was last season where the Anteaters took down Ball State 3-0. In that matchup, Szews had 11 kills, two assists, two aces and one block. Walsh added six kills and one ace. Adam Wessel led the team in digs with eight. Anthony Lebryk added one block with Nick LaVanchy added one assist.

Scouting UC Santa Barbara:

The Cardinals will round out their Spring Break trip with a battle against the 15^th ranked team. The Gauchos sit at 6-5 overall so far this season. The team still has to take on UC San Diego and Fort Wayne before taking on the Cardinals. Notable wins for the Gauchos include Stanford, Pepperdine and BYU.

The first time the Gauchos and Ball State met was back in the 1970 season. UC Santa Barbara leads the all-time series 16-3, but the two teams haven't met since March 1999.

Cardinal Facts:

Sophomore Jake Romano was honored with his second straight MIVA Defensive Player of the Week honor. Romano was honored for his performances against Quincy and Lindenwood. The sophomore totaled 30 digs for 3.33 digs per set in nine sets of play. He also added four block assists in that weekend. The week prior, the Racine, Wisconsin native was given the award for his dominating performances over then-No. 8 Lewis and then-No. 6 Loyola-Chicago. He led the team in digs that weekend with 27 and 3.86 digs per set. The setter also had four block assists and one solo block in those contests. He is currently 31^st in the country in assists per set with 8.26.

Matt Walsh and Mitch Weiler are the two Cardinals that are currently ranked in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. Weiler is fourth in season digs with 123. Walsh is fourth in both hitting percentage (.392) and blocks per set (1.05).

As a team, Ball State is highly ranked in multiple categories in the MIVA as well. The team is first in season digs with 655 for 10.23 digs per set. The Cardinals are second in kills with 770 and second in assists with 715. The team has 991.5 total points, which sits them in second in the conference right behind Loyola.

Nationally, Walsh is ranked 18^th in blocks per set with 1.05 along with 12^th in hitting percentage (.392). Weiler is also nationally ranked in digs per set. He sits at 30^th in the country with 2.08 digs per set. Blake Reardon is 43^rd nationally with 2.88 kills per set. Ball State sits at second nationally in digs per set with 10.23. The Cardinals average 29.36 attacks per set, which sits at the fourth in the country. Ball State sits at ninth in opponent hitting percentage (.217). With 11.17 assists per set, the Cardinals are 18^th nationally. The team is also nationally ranked in blocks per set. The Cardinals have 2.22 blocks per set, which sits them at the 20^th spot.

For the most up-to-date news on the Ball State men's volleyball team, please follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateMVB.

Men’s Volleyball Will Look to Continue Win Streak On Spring Break Trip

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Players Mentioned

Nick LaVanchy

Anthony Lebryk

Blake Reardon

Jake Romano

Matt Szews

Matt Walsh

Mitch Weiler

Adam Wessel