With game three tied at eight, outside attacker Marcus Imwalle came sprinting in from the back row to take a set from Ethan Pheister.
Like several of his kills against Rutgers-Newark University on Saturday, Imwalle's kill attempt landed slightly inside the out-of-bounds line and out of the reach of any players.
The kill promoted a simple response from Worthen Arena public address announcer Steve Shondell to the 726 people in attendance: "holy cow."
Returning to the starting lineup for the first time after being benched two weeks ago, the sophomore outside attacker had similar thoughts as Shondell.
Imwalle tied a career-high with 17 kills as the No. 13 Ball State University men's volleyball defeated Rutgers-Newark 30-23, 30-23, 30-21.
"I had the first couple of matches that were really rough, but it was fun to just get out there again," Imwalle said.
This was the first time Imwalle started a match since the Cardinals' (2-4, 1-0 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) season opener Jan. 17. As a freshman last season, Imwalle started in all but three matches and averaged 2.99 kills per game - second most on the team.
Imwalle finished Friday's match with a .407 attack percentage and a team-high two serving aces. Entering this match, the outside attacker was averaging one kill per game and had a -0.139 attack percentage.
Coach Joel Walton said Imwalle played well against Rutgers-Newark and was able to give Ball State another offensive option besides outside attacker Todd Chamberlain.
"That's the kind of performance we would love to have from Marcus," Walton said. "Now we have another valid offensive option."
Imwalle had eight of his 17 kills in the first game against Rutgers-Newark (2-4, 1-0 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association). It also tied for the 12th most kills in a three-game match for Ball State during the rally scoring era.
Imwalle said it had been frustrating to get limited playing time after starting most of last season. He also said the situation reminded him of his cousin - former Ohio State University quarterback Todd Boeckman - who was moved from the starting position to a backup midway through the 2008 season.
"I know that I haven't been playing up my abilities the past couple of games and in practice," Imwalle said. "Looking at last year I know that I can play a lot better than I was earlier this season."
A main reason for Imwalle's success, Walton said was moving him back to the right outside attacker position.
After primarily playing at right outside attacker position last season, Imwalle moved to the left outside attacker position and Chamberlain went to the right side during the offseason. In the middle of a three-match losing streak to open the season though, Walton moved Chamberlain back to the left side.
Imwalle said he didn't have a problem playing at the left outside attacker position, but he said it feels more natural for him to play at the right outside attacker position.
"At first I was a little nervous getting out there. It's been a couple games," Imwalle said. "I guess it just all came back to me from last year."
With his performance against Rutgers-Newark, Walton said Imwalle could once again become a permanent member of the starting lineup.
The coach said Sunday that either Imwalle or outside attacker Eric Schulte will start at right outside attacker in Ball State's next match against the Milwaukee School of Engineering at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Worthen Arena.
"It's a nice option to have two guys who I can have come in and play at that position," Walton said.
The Cardinals will play three consecutive matches against Division III teams before having a conference match against IPFW on Feb. 27.
Both Imwalle and Walton said this stretch of matches is the opportunity for the team and Imwalle to gain more confidence before playing a majority of its MIVA matches.
"[We] hopefully just keep practices intense and keep coming out into games thinking we are going to win, and playing like we want to win," Imwalle said.
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