Men’s Volleyball Wins MIVA Opener Versus McKendree

MUNCIE, Ind. – In a tightly contested four-set match, the Ball State men's volleyball team started conference play on the right foot by defeating McKendree Thursday night at Worthen Arena.

TEAM RECORDS

The Cardinals won their fifth-consecutive match on the way to improving to 8-3 overall and 1-0 in MIVA play. The Bearcats dropped to 7-5 for the year and 1-1 in MIVA competition.

IMPACT PERFORMANCE

Kaleb Jenness registered a match high 21 kills while hitting and efficient .356. The sophomore also added one ace, one block and eight digs.

STAT LEADERS

Kills- Jenness (21)
Assists- Quinn Isaacson (48)
Aces- Felix Egharevba & Matt Szews (2)
Blocks- Will Hippe (4)
Digs- Nick LaVanchy (17)

SET-BY-SET SUMMARY

Set One (MU 25, BSU 23)- The opening set was back and forth the entire time until McKendree ripped off a 5-1 run to take a 23-20 lead. The Cardinals scored a few points to keep it close, but the Bearcats were able to finish of the set to go up 1-0 in the match.

Set Two (BSU 25, MU 20)- Ball State responded fast in the second set by jumping out to a 5-2 lead. A 6-1 run a few points later helped BSU gain some separation and build a big advantage. The Bearcats trimmed the deficit down to two points late in the game but the Cardinals did enough and got a clinching kill from Jenness to even the score.

Set Three (BSU 25, MU 21)- The two teams traded points through set three until BSU went on a 5-0 run to take a 18-14 advantage. Again, McKendree could only manage to get the deficit to two as the Cardinals took a 2-1 lead.

Set Four (BSU 26, MU 24)- The Bearcats appeared to be sending the match to a decisive fifth set when a late 4-0 run made the score 22-18 in McKendree's favor. The Cardinals responded in a big way when Jenness led a 5-0 run from the service line to give Ball State a one-point advantage. The Bearcats fought back to earn a set point, but BSU fought it off and scored the last three points of the night. Blake Reardon sealed the victory for the Cardinals with a solo block on the final point of the match.

BALL STATE NOTES AND QUOTES

"McKendree is a very good team, so this is a big with for us" said head coach Joel Walton. "They run good offense and are tough on defense, but we played really well tonight and our team put in a lot of hard work to get this one. I'm really pleased to start off conference play this way. If you want to be in the conversation at the end of the year in this league, you have to win at home. Tonight was an important win for us."

-Coach Walton recorded his 399th career win Thursday night. He will go for number 400 at home against Lewis Saturday.

-Despite winning their fifth-straight match, BSU saw its 12-set winning streak snapped with the loss in set one. It was their most consecutive sets won since winning 19 in a row in 2013.

-Thursday marked the first four-set match Ball State has played this season. All its previous matches had been decided in either three or five sets.

UP NEXT

The Cardinals close out a four-game homestand when No. 6 Lewis visits Muncie Saturday night. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. ET and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

For all the latest on Ball State men's volleyball, follow @BallStateMVB on social media and visit BallStateSports.com.

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Team Stats

Jenness Kaleb

Szews Matt

Reardon Blake

Egharevba Felix

Players Mentioned

Felix Egharevba

Will Hippe

Quinn Isaacson

Kaleb Jenness

Nick LaVanchy

Blake Reardon

Matt Szews