Facing a game point and with all of his starters sitting on the bench against a Division III team, coach Joel Walton calmly walked toward the referee and called timeout.
During the timeout, though, the coach was not thinking about what starter to put back in the match with the Ball State University men's volleyball team leading by two games. Instead, Walton gathered the players coming off the court and talked to them about the next offensive play he wanted to run.
It was a move that did not need to be second-guessed.
Ball State scored the next three points to win game three in overtime and sweep Carthage College 30-23, 30-23, 32-30 Tuesday in Worthen Arena.
"It was kind of their game to win or lose," Walton said. "I was glad to see the guys pull it out in the end. We made plays when we had to win that game. That's what you like to see."
Ball State (11-7, 4-3 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) used every player on its 15-man active roster in the win, except for middle attacker Matt McCarthy, who is recovering from a stress fracture in his back.
One player making an appearance late in the match was backup setter Daniel Penrod.
With Ball State leading 19-18 in the third game, Penrod came off the bench to replace all-conference setter Ethan Pheister.
Finishing the third game with seven assists, Penrod said he was slightly surprised Walton put him in the game with the score that close. He also said, though, the comeback win was a large confidence boost for all the non-starters.
"The only time we ever see the court really is in practice," Penrod said. "Getting out here against a really good team and playing them and beating them, it just boosts our confidence. We are capable at playing at a top level as well as our starters."
Having played seven matches in the last 12 days, Walton said he planned to pull most of his starters early in Tuesday's match. The coach also said he was happy with how non-starters played throughout the second and third games.
"Every time you put the guys on the court, you are going to learn something about them," Walton said. "It's their chance to improve their stock or show you they are not focused and ready to go."
Walton said the player he was most impressed with was outside attacker Lee Meyer.
Coming off the bench in the second game, Meyer finished with a match-high nine kills and a .467 attack percentage. The sophomore also had five digs and four of Ball State's 11.5 blocks.
Meyer said the offense became more successful toward the end of the match after Ball State started passing better.
"Once we got through the kinks and communication errors we ran our offense much better," he said. "It was good to see a large group of players from our bench get out there and play well tonight."
Along with Meyer, outside attacker James Emming had a career-high eight kills, with all his kills coming in the final game.
After playing in one match as a freshman last season, it was the fourth time this season Emming has played in a match. It was also the second time he came off the bench in the last two weeks.
Emming said he hopes his offensive performance Tuesday can lead to more playing time throughout the rest of the season.
"It was just a whole lot of fun," Emming said. "I'm glad to get the opportunity to play and made the most of it when I was out there."
With the win, the Cardinals ended their three-match losing streak. Ball State will next have non-conference road matches against George Mason University and Rutgers-Newark University during the weekend.
Despite Tuesday's win being against a Division III team, Meyer said, it was significant after losing three MIVA matches last week.
"It's a springboard win that can jump start us for the rest of the season," he said.
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