COLUMBUS, Ohio - It was quick, but not necessarily painless.
In what seemed to pass with only a few serves and bounces of a volleyball, Ohio State easily swept the Ball State men's volleyball team 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-15) in St. John Arena on Wednesday night.
Ball State ended its season with a disastrous performance, finishing with an overall record of 14-12 and 6-8 in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association.
Afterward, coach Joel Walton said it was a disappointing ending to an up-and-down year.
"We knew going in that it was going to be a challenging year," Walton said following the match. "Based on some of the things that we did in the preseason, our staff made a pact that we were going to celebrate every win. [But] I think this team progressed really well, and it's unfortunate that we went out with such a poor performance."
Ohio State took a commanding lead to start set one and it didn't falter for the rest of the match, hitting a .392 attack percentage while limiting Ball State to an abysmal .022 percentage.
That dominating trend continued on defense. Ohio State stoned Ball State attackers at the net all night, recording 19 blocks to an opposing four.
Ohio State coach Pete Hanson praised his team's ability to stay collected in the midst of talk before the match.
"With what was on the line and all the stuff that they said where they were going to be really relaxed and the pressure was on us, yeah, for our guys to come out and be that focused that [well], I take my hat off to them," he said.
Unlike 2011, Ball State will bring back almost every player from this year's roster for next season. Fifth-year senior Jeff Aucoin is the only graduating player on the team.
Walton said he wants to keep working on the issue that plagued Ball State all season long - offense from its outside attackers.
"It is going to be important that we find some players that can attack the ball at the pin confidently, that can generate some offense for us," Walton said. "It continues to be an absolute need. We're obviously going to be working very hard this summer with recruiting and trying to figure out the players in the upcoming classes that can come in and help us."
Ball State's offense generated its lowest offensive percentage in at least over a decade, ending at .210, excluding the loss to Ohio State.
Still, Hanson said Ball State has room to grow next season with so much of its roster staying intact.
"You just look at the successful teams in all the conferences, and it's usually the older teams," Hanson said. "Yeah, they're going to be okay next year. They've just got to keep working at it just like everybody else does."
Read More
Third round rise leads Ball State women’s golf to 4th place finish at MAC Championship
By Nick Shelton / 4 hours agoThroughout a season that saw a number of ups and downs, from placing 14th in their season opener to placing 1st at the Brittany Kelly Classic two weeks later, the Cardinals continued to climb. Closing out their season at the Pinnacle Golf Club in Grove City, Ohio, Ball State’s young squad had a lot to prove.
Bearcat pitching struggles lead to Muncie Central loss at Delta in Delaware County baseball clash
By David Moore / YesterdayAt the end of the evening, it was the Eagles who ended their four-game skid as Delta took the victory against the Bearcats 16-1 in five innings. Delta will be on the road for its next contest against Hoosier Heritage Conference rival Shelbyville April 23 at 6 p.m. Muncie Central will travel to Muncie Burris for its next matchup, also April 23 at 6 p.m.
