Marcus Imwalle is making the most of some recent opportunities.
After playing in only four sets prior to the Ball State's two road games this weekend, the senior outside attacker was the key factor in Saturday's 3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 25-16, 20-25, 15-8) over Sacred Heart on Saturday night.
Imwalle took control of the service line for the Cardinals, finishing with a career-high eight service aces to go along with eight kills.
It's a comeback story for Imwalle, who suffered a season-ending injury in 2010 on Jan. 29 as well.
With the win, Ball State evened its record at 3-3, ending a three-game losing streak that had followed the team home from the Outrigger Invitational two weeks ago.
In addition to Imwalle's impressive performance, the tandem of senior middle attackers J.D. Gasparovic and Anders Nelson, along with outside attacker Greg Herceg, helped pave the way for the Ball State victory.
Gasparovic led the Cardinals with 15 kills and an even .500 hitting mark, while Nelson added in eight kills of his own.
Herceg finished second on the team in kills with a career-high 11 kills.
Sacred Heart was led by Enzo Mackenzie with 24 kills, and was followed by Bradley Borsay with 14.
Coach Joel Walton could not be reached for comment.
After closing out the road trip with both a win and a loss, the Cardinals will travel back to Muncie to begin a four-game home stand next weekend.
The team's next match will be played on Friday against Pfeiffer.
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