The Ball State University men's volleyball team caught fire in the final two games of the NCAA Preview to the Final Four match in Rochester, N.Y., over the weekend. The team was so hot that when they got back on the bus to make the nine-hour trip home, the brakes on the bus ignited and became disabled. The team had to wait for another bus to arrive before they could make their overnight journey back to Ball State.
The Cardinals had better luck on the way to New York this weekend to battle Penn State, USC, and Rutgers-Newark. The team won two out of three, losing only to Penn State on Saturday in a five-match battle.
Penn State won the tournament with a 3-0 record; Ball State Cardinals came in second with a 2-1 statement. The University of Southern California came in third with a 1-2 record and Rutgers-Newark struggled to a 0-3 conclusion to the weekend. On Saturday, Ball State lost the first and fourth games, winning the middle two, only to lose the final game (13-15).
"I thought we played a good match, and it was disappointing to come up a couple points short," coach Joel Walton said of the Penn State match.
On Sunday, the Cardinals started out by beating USC in a five-match, come-from-behind victory (24-30 28-30 30-25 30-28 15-12). Nick Meyer and Evan Berg both lead the team with 21 kills. Meyer also had three aces to lead the team. Leading blockers for the Cards were Dave Carlson with seven and Zoran Grabovac with seven. The leading digger was Ian Peckler with 11. In the game against Rutgers-Newark, the Cardinals turned up the heat and won 3-0 (30-17 33-31 30-20). Meyer led the team with 18 kills and Berg had 13. Carlson and Grabovac each had one ace. Matt McCarthy and Meyer each had four blocks and Peckler led the team with six digs.
The Cardinals improved in the two areas they have been struggling in. In the USC match they hit .384 and had 3.3 blocks a game and then against Rutgers-Newark had .489 and had four blocks per game. Jim Schiel set a game and Mark Termion and Mark Rumshick also played a couple games.
"Their outside attacker played extremely well," Walton said. "Today, we looked extremely horrible, and then our guys ignited in game three and won three straight games. I'm pleased with how everyone played."
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
