After a sluggish beginning, the Ball State men's volleyball team rolled to a 3-0 win over Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association rival Clarke on Thursday night.
The Cardinals (9-7 overall, 4-3 MIVA) struggled in game one, but dominated the rest of the way, starting in the early going of game two.
Neither team could build a lead of more than one point in game one until Clarke took its biggest lead of the match, 19-16. The Cardinals responded, and fought back to take to take a 24-22 advantage, and closed out game one, 30-24.
Coach Joel Walton said Clarke opened the match with solid serving and the Cardinals didn't pass consistently well, leading to its early struggles.
Ball State dominated from the get-go in the next game, taking a 10-3 lead and expanding it to 17-7. From there, the Cardinals continued to build its lead to 26-10 and eventually won 30-13.
Walton said the team got in a rhythm and started to remember their first meeting against Clarke earlier this season. He also said the Cardinal's served well, taking Clarke out of its game plan.
"We were taking them out of their offense and they gave us quite a few free balls," he said. "They weren't attacking, and we were able to run whatever offense we wanted to at them."
Game three's final score of 30-21 was not indicative of Ball State's dominance. The Cardinals opened with eight straight points, and built its lead to 15-5, before Clarke battled back. Ball State maintained a double-digit lead, but the Crusaders battled until the end, when they rolled four straight points to delay the Cardinals victory.
Luis Castera and Zoran Grabovac did not play in the match. Castera sat out due to a violation of team rules, and will sit out Saturday's game against Quincy.
Grabovac rested in preparation for Saturday's game because Scott Bushong will be unable to play due to prior commitments. Their absence allowed the door to be opened for others to play in their place, such as Ken Haney and Arturo Rivera.
"In this kind of a match, it's nice to work some players in because those guys are working just as hard in practice," Walton said. "It was good to get them some time on the court."
Nick Meyer led the Cardinals with 10 kills, while Dave Carlson had 34 assists. Walton cited their performances, as well as Mark Rumschik, Ian Peckler (11 digs), and Andrew Braley (five blocks). The Cardinals finished with a team attack percentage of .337.
Ball State travels to Quincy on Saturday, then head to Hawaii for two matches with the Warriors.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
