Walton Says Good-Bye As Head Coach Of The Cardinals; BSU Falls To Lewis In MIVA Tourney Semifinals

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - A historic night, nonetheless, as Ball State's 23-year head coach Joel Walton made his final appearance at the helm of the Cardinals as Ball State fell in the semifinals of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) Tournament against top seeded Lewis Saturday night by a score of 3-0 in Neil Carey Arena.

Graduate senior Blake Reardon led the Cardinals offensively in his final showing with 13 kills while his teammate junior Kaleb Jenness finished the night with 10. Both Reardon and Jenness earned post season All-MIVA honors just a week ago.

Statistically, both teams were very comparable, but the biggest difference was efficiency on offense as Lewis made less mistakes than the Cardinals hitting a .431 percent while Ball State ended the night with a .225 attack percentage.

The Flyers came out strong taking set one with a final score of 25-15 after a 13-kill showing off of 22 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage while Ball State only had 11 kills off of 26 attempts hitting only .269 percent.

Ball State stayed close to the Flyers in the second frame, only trailing by one (19-18) as the set was coming to a close but Lewis shattered BSU's hopes after scoring six of the last eight points to push the Flyers lead to 2-0 in the match after taking set two, 25-20.

The Cardinals never gave up in the final stanza. A score never reflects the heart and effort a team puts into not only for the preparation for today's match but also the competition itself.

Ball State played neck and neck with the Flyers in the final frame but Lewis was able to hold on to complete the sweep over the Cardinals tonight winning the final set, 25-23.

Ball State ended its season with an overall record of 12-8 while finishing MIVA regular season action with an 8-6 ledger.

The Cardinals also said good-bye to Walton who is one of the winningest coaches in NCAA men's volleyball history ending his coaching career tonight with the Cardinals with on overall record of 415-237 (.636).

Under Walton's tutelage, Ball State student-athletes have earned All-MIVA honors 76 times, including 34 first team awards and has had seven student-athletes earn All-American Accolades.

A two-time MIVA Coach of the Year, Walton entered his final season ranked fourth among active NCAA men's volleyball head coaches (Divisions I, II or III) in wins.

Walton Says Good-Bye As Head Coach Of The Cardinals; BSU Falls To Lewis In MIVA Tourney Semifinals

Team Stats

Blake Reardon

Kaleb Jenness

Bryce Behrendt

Will Hippe

Players Mentioned

Kaleb Jenness

Blake Reardon

Players Mentioned

Kaleb Jenness

Blake Reardon