The men's volleyball team picked up the regular season exactly where the preseason ended -- undefeated. After two nights of volleyball during the weekend, the team lost only one game in seven tries to start the season 2-0.
The Cardinals went a spotless 5-0 in the preseason and continued their excellent play against Concordia College and Long Beach State University, ranked No. 6 in a national preseason poll taken by Volleyball Magazine.
Against Concordia in the season opener for both schools, No. 10 Ball State swept the Clippers in three straight games to win the match. The Cardinals dominated all night and trailed only once. The team's attack also was much more efficient than Concordia's, hitting at a .362 clip compared to .144 for the visiting team.
Leading the attack for Ball State was Kyle Weindel with 24 kills and Paul Fasshauer with 10. Setter Keith Schunzel orchestrated the offense with 44 assists.
Twenty-four hours later, the Cardinals again played host. This time, they faced No. 6 Long Beach State University. The 49ers, however, had started the season off with a 1-3 mark and were looking to improve their overall record.
Trying to remain undefeated on the season, the Cardinals won a four-game match that including an emotional game three. In the previous game, Ball State came back from a large deficit only to lose its first game of the season by four.
"Game two got away from us because we were trying to be too perfect," head coach Joel Walton said. "We were getting out of our normal ways of playing. I told the team that would probably be our worst game of the year."
After splitting the first two games, Ball State again trailed Long Beach and would not go down silently. This time, with the crowd powerfully behind them, the Cards would eventually win the game 33-31.
Ball State went on to win the next game as they handed the 49ers their fourth loss of the season. Leading the way for Ball State was Fasshauer again with 18 kills and Doug Market came of the bench to add 12 of his own. Schunzel again commanded the attack with 61 assists and added five kills.
Though the 49ers were ranked higher than Ball State in Volleyball Magazine's preseason poll, Walton said the team should not be surprised by the upset.
"It was a match we should have won," Walton said. "We were at home and Long Beach is a (younger team than last year)."
Walton also said the Cards have yet to earn a high spot in the national polls, but says the win over Long Beach was the first of many steps to getting that spot.
"(The voters of the polls) are waiting for us to earn a ranking and this win was a step in the right direction," he said. "We gain more respect with this win."
The team continues its season this week with home games against Rutgers-Newark on Tuesday and Lindenwood on Sunday.
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