Cardinals Drop 3-1 Decision to No. 6 Lewis

Saturday, February 15

Muncie, Ind.

7:00 PM

Ball State University

8-4,1-1MIVA

#6 Lewis

9-4,2-1MIVA

Lewis

Ball St.

February 15, 2020 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score PDF Box Score

MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men's volleyball team saw its five-match winning streak snapped Saturday night in a 3-1 defeat against No. 6 Lewis at Worthen Arena.

TEAM RECORDS

The Cardinals dropped to 8-4 overall and 1-1 in MIVA play. Lewis improved to 9-4 on the season and 2-1 in conference.

IMPACT PERFORMANCE

The Lewis attackers went at Nick LaVanchy all night, but he was up for the task with a match-high 11 digs. The senior also added six assists.

STAT LEADERS

Kills- Kaleb Jenness (15)
Assists- Quinn Isaacson (37)
Aces- Blake Reardon (2)
Blocks- Felix Egharevba (4)
Digs- LaVanchy (11)

SET-BY-SET SUMMARY

Set One (LU 25, BSU 16)- The Flyers quickly took control of the opening set by jumping out to a 6-1 lead. The Cardinals could never get closer than three and a 7-1 run gave Lewis momentum heading into the second set with a 1-0 lead.

Set Two (LU 25, BSU 17)- BSU kept it competitive in the early going, but Lewis used a 5-0 run to separate from the Cardinals and cruise to a dominant 2-0 advantage in the match.

Set Three (BSU 25, LU 21)- The Cardinals came alive in the third set, sparked by Blake Reardon off the bench. Ball State strung together a 7-1 run with Will Hippe at the service line for most of it to lead 14-8. Lewis crept its way closer and trimmed the deficit to three with the score 22-19, but the Flyers gave BSU two points off errors and Jenness put down a kill to give the Cardinals their lone set victory of the night.

Set Four (LU 25, BSU 20)- Though more competitive than sets one and two, it was much of the same for Lewis in game three as the Flyers ripped off a 4-0 run to take a commanding 12-7 lead. Ball State could only put together multiple points in a row once and Lewis secured the victory.

BALL STATE NOTES AND QUOTES

"We just didn't hit very well tonight," said head coach Joel Walton. "Lewis is a really good team and we didn't rise to the occasion. Hopefully we can have a few guys step up this week in practice and get us back on track for some important conference matches."

-Ball State's five match win streak was snapped in the loss. The streak was the longest since the Cardinals won five in a row in 2018.

-Coach Walton still sits at 399 wins for his career. BSU's next victory will be his 400^th and he will become only the ninth Division I coach to accomplish the feat.

-After four straight matches at home, the Cardinals now hit the road for four in a row. BSU will travel to Purdue Fort Wayne, Loyola, Lindenwood and Quincy.

NEXT UP

Ball State's four-match road trip starts at Purdue Fort Wayne Friday, February 21. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. ET.

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