Ball State Ups Winning Streak To Four, Sweeps Carthage

MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State men's volleyball team extended its winning streak to four matches with a 3-0 (30-20, 30-22, 30-24) victory over Carthage Friday night at Worthen Arena.

   With the win, the Cardinals improve to 4-1 on the season, while the Red Men fall to 1-3 with the setback.

   "I was pleased with the effort our team came out with tonight," said Ball State head coach Joel Walton. "We played a better overall match. However, there are still areas we need to work on as we head into next weekend's matches versus George Mason and Rutgers-Newark."

   Lee Meyer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller H.S.) and Jamion Hartley (North Chicago, Ill./North Chicago H.S.) tied for match-high honors with 11 kills apiece, with Meyer falling two digs shy of his second consecutive double-double with eight digs. Hartley also had a solid defensive night, adding five digs.

   "Jamion is starting to find his home on the court," added Walton. "We need to get him out there as much as we can, because the more experience he gets, the more his confidence will grow."

   As a team, the Cardinals combined for a season-high .289 (44-16-97) attack percentage, including a .455 (14-4-22) rate of success in the opening frame. Defensively, BSU limited the Red Men to a .129 (34-22-93) attacking mark.

   Despite a match-high 10 digs from BSU libero Billy Ebel (Lenexa, Kan./Bishop Miege H.S.), Carthage was able to hold a 35-to-30 in digs.

   Tom O'Connell was Carthage's top attacker, tying Meyer and Hartley for match-high honors with 11 kills, while Randy Hansen added nine. Hansen and Mike Bynon tied for team-high honors with eight digs.

   The Cardinals opened the match with a kill from Hartley, a block assists from J.D. Gasparovic (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville H.S.) and Larry Wrather (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forrest H.S.) and an Ethan Pheister (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) service ace to quickly claim a 3-0 advantage. With Ball State maintaining a 14-10 lead, kills from Hartley, Meyer and Anders Nelson (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls H.S.) pushed the advantage to 17-10.

   After a BSU attack error helped the guests draw within five at 23-18, the Cardinals rallied off the next five points, including two more Meyer kills. Ball State went on to win the set 30-20 on a Carthage service error. Ball State finished the set with a .455 (14-4-22) attack percentage, with Meyer scoring five kills and hitting .517 (5-1-7). Nelson was also a perfect 4-for-4 in the frame.

   Neither team was able to take control during the early portion of the second stanza, as the teams battled to a 13-13 tie. With Ball State holding a 15-14 lead, the hosts came to life behind a pair of Hartley kills and a Gasparovic service ace to pull ahead 18-14. Moments later, a Meyer kill gave BSU a 20-15 edge and forced a Carthage timeout.

   With Ball State holding a 23-17 lead, kills from Carthage's O'Connell and Matt Yanz pulled the guests within four points at 23-19. However, a Nelson kill started a 5-1 BSU run, making the score 28-20. Hartley then scored two kills over the next four plays, as Ball State won the game 30-22. Hartley connected for six kills in the set, while Ebel added five digs.

   The Red Men came out of the long break on fire, opening the third game with five of the first six points, including kills from Hansen and O'Connell. With Carthage holding a 6-2 lead, the Cardinals retaliated with a 6-2 run of its own to event the set at 8-8. After the teams traded kills on the next two plays, kills from Pheister and Matt Leske (Highwood, Ill./Highland Park H.S.) gave BSU its first lead of the frame at 11-9.

   Ball State extended its lead to 12-9 with a block from Leske and Marcus Imwalle (Maria Stein, Ohio/Marion Local H.S.) following a Red Men timeout. While the guests pulled within one at the 15-14 mark, BSU surged back behind a kill and ace from Meyer to push the score to 20-16 and force Carthage's second timeout.

   Ball State added the next two points out of the break, before going on to win the match 30-24 on a Carthage service error. Imwalle scored five kills in the set, while Leske added four.

   The Ball State men's volleyball team returns to action next Friday, when it hosts George Mason in a 7:30 p.m. first serve at Worthen Arena.