The men's volleyball team won a share of the 2002 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association regular-season championship by defeating both Mercyhurst and IPFW this weekend. It is the 21st title in school history.
No. 9 Ball State (20-7 overall, 14-2 MIVA) played host to Mercyhurst Friday and defeated the Lakers in three games, 30-23, 30-18, 30-16. Head coach Joel Walton said the Cardinals' defense, highlighted by 16 blocks, was a key to winning the match.
"The guys did a good job (defending)," Walton said. "The job we did blocking just shows the guys were focused and ready to play."
The Cardinals held Mercyhurst to hit -.032 for the match. Josh Lee led Ball State with 10 kills in two games of play while Matthew Denmark had a match-high nine blocks.
In the last match of the regular season, Ball State faced a "new and improved" IPFW, Walton said.
Needing only to win the match to earn the No. 1 seed in the MIVA tournament, the Cards pulled out the victory in sweeping fashion, winning 30-18, 30-21, 30-25.
"The most significant thing about (this win) is that it clinches our regular-season MIVA title," Walton says. "That puts us in a great position going into the tournament."
Despite holding IPFW to a low .148 hitting percentage, Walton said the team showed flaws it will indeed look to improve upon this week before the tournament.
"There are still some things (IPFW) was able to do that other teams have been able to do (against us)," Walton said. "There are a couple of holes that were seen in our defense, some areas that we need to work on."
The Cards hit .371 in the match and were led by 13 kills from Jary Delgado.
"Jary's been playing real well lately," Walton said. "I'm really pleased with his offense. He gives us a nice boost down the stretch and I hope he'll continue to play that way in the tournament."
With the regular season finally behind them, the Cardinals will look toward perfecting their games in search of winning the school's 21st MIVA tournament championship and first for Walton in his four-year head coaching career.
The team has accomplished one of its main preseason goals, which is obtaining the top seed in the tournament. Walton said winning the top seed merely makes the road to the school's first MIVA title and NCAA tournament berth easier, not guaranteed.
"(This) is not the end of the journey," Walton said. "It just makes the latter stages of the journey a little easier."
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