Although the men's volleyball team came out of the weekend with a win and a full starting lineup, Ball State couldn't defeat No. 13 Loyola on the road Saturday.
The Cardinals (6-7, 1-3 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) rallied past Clarke (2-7, 0-5 MIVA) in a 3-1 win (35-33, 30-25, 30-22, 30-24) Friday.
Setter Dave Carlson, who suffered a back injury two weeks ago, played one game in the match but rested to start against Loyola (12-1, 5-0 MIVA). However, Carlson said his back continued to bother him.
"His back is stiff, and you can see that in how he moved on the court," head coach Joel Walton said.
Despite the loss to Loyola, Walton said the team has shown improvement.
"The loss hurt, but we're still trying to compete without a setter who's 100 percent," Walton said Saturday. "I think our guys really competed very well tonight."
Outside hitter Nick Meyer said he felt the weekend had some good signs for the team.
"I think we came out of the weekend better than we came in," Meyer said. "Even though we lost, it's still steps in the right directions."
Meyer put up 21 kills against the Ramblers on Saturday with a .410 hitting percentage. Luis Castera added eight kills, but errors dropped his hitting percentage to -.107. Evan Berg had seven kills, and Carlson and Zoran Grabovac both added six.
"We just didn't have a second person who put up real significant numbers," Walton said. "Luis struggled, partly because he didn't play very well and partly because Dave didn't set him a good ball to swing at.
"It was hard for [Carlson] with limited mobility."
Castera did lead the Cards in kills against the Crusaders with 16. Berg and Mark Rumschik contributed 9 apiece.
As Carlson continues rehabilitation for his back, Walton hopes to see more improvement in the team.
"I think it's our injuries holding us back," he said.
As the team prepares for its first home game in three weeks, Carlson said he hopes the team moves to the next level.
"We're on the edge of something great."
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