Eyeing a possible sweep, Ball State’s front line was dominating Lewis.
The men’s volleyball team had racked up 16.5 blocks in just two sets, making life miserable for Lewis University’s Greg Petty.
Petty, one of the most dangerous outside attackers in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, had eight errors and Ball State’s Matt Leske, Kevin Owens, Graham McIlvaine and Marcin Niemczewski had him locked down.
Things changed when Lewis head coach Dan Friend made a surprising move, benching Petty, one of his star players.
“That was one of the ways they stopped our blocking from being successful,” Ball State head coach Joel Walton said. “And even when they weren’t getting kills, we were struggling with our digs, and it didn’t let our outside attackers take aggressive swings.”
The move paid off, as Ball State blew a 2-0 lead and lost to Lewis 3-2. It was the second time in three days Ball State failed to put away an opponent after jumping out to a 2-0 lead.
Petty didn’t play in the final two sets, and Ball State registered just five blocks in those sets. The Ball State defense that leads the conference in blocks and digs per match was a step too slow, as outside attacker Geoff Powell took charge for Lewis.
Ball State’s triple block wall had worked effectively, but suddenly broke down in one-on-one matchups. Powell feasted, recording 32 kills before the night was finished.
It was an odd scene, one that left Walton searching for answers.
“We just didn’t do enough to slow [Powell] down,” he said. “When we did, we didn’t run our offense efficiently, too many times we took a roll shot and Lewis picked them up easy.”
Without an effective block, Lewis’ attacks found their way, uncontested, to empty spots on the court. When a Ball State defender was able to anticipate the path, passes were weak and predictable, allowing Lewis defenders to set up in front of the attack and reject or deflect it.
After its blocking fell apart, so did Ball State.
Players sat in a row, postgame, most of them quietly chatting to one another. Owens was silent, leaning back in his chair and staring straight ahead. He finished the match with six block assists and spent most of the time manning the net. He and Leske are two of the most important players in Ball State’s block, one that leads the MIVA with 3.29 per set.
“I don’t know if I would say we relaxed, but some of the things that were working for us just went away,” Walton said. “If you ask our guys, it’s nothing they’re doing mentally or emotionally different. Things just stopped going our way and we weren’t able to make plays at the end.”
Twice, Ball State was one set away from emerging victorious.
Twice, Ball State was sent back to the whiteboard, looking for answers.
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