So much for the dog fight.-áOn a night when the highly touted Loyola offense was clogged by Ball State University's defense, the Ramblers found themselves going home early with a mark in the loss column.
"That's a fun team to watch," coach Joel Walton said. "Anybody in Muncie that didn't come out to the arena tonight to see this team missed something. Those Ball State Cardinals showed what they're made of.-áThey took down an awfully good team and made them look pretty average."
At the time, the Cardinals (11-0, 3-0 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) and Ramblers (11-1, 4-1 MIVA) were the only two remaining undefeated Division I teams. After the Cardinals defeated Loyola 3-0 (30-14, 30-24, 30-24), they now exclusively hold the honor.-áThe game nearly tripled its usual attendance with over 1,500 fans there to see it.
"That was an awful lot of fun," Walton said. "I had some problems the first couple of games calming down and trying to be the coach out there."
Junior Nick Meyer paced the Cardinals with 12 kills and 14 digs.
"Coming out tonight, we were feeling really good," Meyer said. "We had a great week of practice, and we just came out and executed as a team. I don't think we could've played a better match."
Loyola stopped rambling after a game one drubbing where they appeared to be taken by surprise. The Cardinals had 14 kills in 31 attempts for a .387 hitting percentage as a team.
Ball State's offense ran very efficiently Friday night, but it was their defense that won the game. Ball State won in the blocks category by 10, 16-6. The Cardinals also held the Rambler offense (who had a .390 hitting percentage, tops in the nation) to .083.
After winning the first game, Ball State had the crowd behind them and kept rolling. Game two remained fairly close until about halfway through when the Cardinals were sparked with back-to-back kills by Patrick Durbin and Matt McCarthy. Game three started much the same as the second ended, with the Cardinals opening up a lead from the get-go.-áBall State pushed the early lead to 12-6 before Loyola's coach, Shane Davis, called a timeout.-á
The anxiety about finishing in three games showed as the Cardinals retained their intensity throughout.-áAt one moment, Meyer let out a scream that demonstrated his frustration.
"I missed a dig that was really right in my lap," Meyer said. "I thought I should've had it and wanted to end the game a little sooner."
Saturday night, the Cardinals took on the Lakers from Mercyhurst and defeated them 3-0 (30-27, 30-21, 30-28).-áFriday's match with the Ramblers seemed to take a lot of energy and intensity out of the Cardinals.-áAt times the Lakers looked as though they might steal a game from the No. 9 Cardinals. Ball State pulled together though and ended the match in three games.
Freshman Ryan Clarke contributed to the Cardinal victory with some aggressive play in game three.
"It was exciting to get back out there," Clarke said. "Last night took a lot out of us.-áWe still should've brought it, but we better get used to it because that's all we've got the rest of the season."
At the conclusion of a vital weekend, the Cardinals can step back and look at their accomplishments and refocus for next weekend.
"We are now the only undefeated team in the country," Walton said. "It's in large part to the crowd that came out tonight, and I'm glad they came out to support us."-á
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
