Ball State University Athletics
Thursday, February 1
Muncie, Ind.
7 pm
Ball State University
8-5,1-0MIVA
3
vs
1
Loyola University Chicago
5-6,0-1MIVA
1
2
3
4
F
Loyola Chicago
25
24
25
23
1
Ball St.
23
26
27
25
3
No. 15 Men’s Volleyball Opens MIVA Action With 3-1 Win Over No. 11 Loyola-Chicago
February 01, 2024 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - It came to no surprise that tonight's Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association opener between Ball State and Loyola-Chicago would be a close one.
So close in fact, that the match consisted of 44 ties and 17 lead changes. Fortunately for the Cardinals they were able to hold onto a 3-1 victory over the Rambler's Thursday night in Worthen Arena.
With the win, Ball State improved to 8-5 on the season and started MIVA action 1-0 for the first time since 2022. Loyola-Chicago dropped to 5-6 on the year and 0-1 in conference play.
For the match, Tinaishe Ndavazocheva led with 19 kills and was one dig shy of a double-double. Both Braydon Savitski-Lynde and Patrick Rogers each had 14 kills apiece. Setter Lucas Machado was consistent at the net dishing out 46 assists for a .434 accuracy.
One of the biggest components that helped the Cardinals tonight was the service line as the Rambler's had 22 service errors while Ball State limited its errors to 13.
The first set was a back-and-forth affair that consisted of nine ties and three lead changes. The Cardinals had a two-point lead (20-18) late in the opening set which was capped off by a kill from Ndavazocheva. Loyola Chicago rallied off four-straight points to go up 22-20 over Ball State. A few errors at the net became costly and the Ramblers went on to take set one, 25-23.
The Cardinals regrouped in the second stanza and were able to jump out to an impressive 11-6 advantage over the Ramblers after back-to-back kills from Savitski-Lynde. That BSU run forced Loyola-Chicago to call a timeout. The Rambler's inched closer but the Cardinals answered making some smart defensive plays at the net along with strong serves to push their lead back to five (15-10). Rodney Wallace and Rogers had an impressive block together to make the score 23-17. The Cardinals went on to tie the match 1-1 with their 26-24 set two win.
As the match continued and emotions were high the seesaw match carried over into the third with the score tied 13-13. Loyola-Chicago went on a scoring spree and would move ahead of the Cardinals late in set three 18-15 which led to a Ball State timeout. After the timeout, Ball State rattled off four-straight points to take back a one-point edge, 19-18. The Rambler's came back, and the score would be knotted 24-24. A service error by the Rambler's and a kill from Will Patterson put the Cardinals up 2-1 in the match as BSU took set three by a score of 27-25.
It looked as if the match would go into overtime as the Rambler's took an early 9-5 lead over the Cardinals in the fourth frame. Slowly Ball State would make its way back into contention as Patterson served five-straight points to tie the set 10-10. After that, both teams went point for point with the game tied for the last time at 23-23. A service error from the Rambler's and a kill by Machado sealed the set for BSU 25-23 and the match, 3-1.
The Ball State men's volleyball team continues competition at home Friday when it hosts No. 8 Penn State at 7 pm ET in Worthen Arena.
So close in fact, that the match consisted of 44 ties and 17 lead changes. Fortunately for the Cardinals they were able to hold onto a 3-1 victory over the Rambler's Thursday night in Worthen Arena.
With the win, Ball State improved to 8-5 on the season and started MIVA action 1-0 for the first time since 2022. Loyola-Chicago dropped to 5-6 on the year and 0-1 in conference play.
For the match, Tinaishe Ndavazocheva led with 19 kills and was one dig shy of a double-double. Both Braydon Savitski-Lynde and Patrick Rogers each had 14 kills apiece. Setter Lucas Machado was consistent at the net dishing out 46 assists for a .434 accuracy.
One of the biggest components that helped the Cardinals tonight was the service line as the Rambler's had 22 service errors while Ball State limited its errors to 13.
The first set was a back-and-forth affair that consisted of nine ties and three lead changes. The Cardinals had a two-point lead (20-18) late in the opening set which was capped off by a kill from Ndavazocheva. Loyola Chicago rallied off four-straight points to go up 22-20 over Ball State. A few errors at the net became costly and the Ramblers went on to take set one, 25-23.
The Cardinals regrouped in the second stanza and were able to jump out to an impressive 11-6 advantage over the Ramblers after back-to-back kills from Savitski-Lynde. That BSU run forced Loyola-Chicago to call a timeout. The Rambler's inched closer but the Cardinals answered making some smart defensive plays at the net along with strong serves to push their lead back to five (15-10). Rodney Wallace and Rogers had an impressive block together to make the score 23-17. The Cardinals went on to tie the match 1-1 with their 26-24 set two win.
As the match continued and emotions were high the seesaw match carried over into the third with the score tied 13-13. Loyola-Chicago went on a scoring spree and would move ahead of the Cardinals late in set three 18-15 which led to a Ball State timeout. After the timeout, Ball State rattled off four-straight points to take back a one-point edge, 19-18. The Rambler's came back, and the score would be knotted 24-24. A service error by the Rambler's and a kill from Will Patterson put the Cardinals up 2-1 in the match as BSU took set three by a score of 27-25.
It looked as if the match would go into overtime as the Rambler's took an early 9-5 lead over the Cardinals in the fourth frame. Slowly Ball State would make its way back into contention as Patterson served five-straight points to tie the set 10-10. After that, both teams went point for point with the game tied for the last time at 23-23. A service error from the Rambler's and a kill by Machado sealed the set for BSU 25-23 and the match, 3-1.
The Ball State men's volleyball team continues competition at home Friday when it hosts No. 8 Penn State at 7 pm ET in Worthen Arena.
Team Stats
Loyola
BSU
Kills
59
60
Errors
14
19
Attempts
138
144
Hitting %
.326
.285
Points
70.5
67.0
Assists
56
56
Aces
1
3
Blocks
10.5
4
Game Leaders
Kills
19
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
14
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
14
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
S
/ Men's Volleyball
OH/OPP
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's VolleyballMB/OPP
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
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