No. 7 Penn State Sweeps Ball State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - - The Ball State men's volleyball team suffered a 3-0 (30-18, 30-15, 30-22) non-conference setback to No. 7 Penn State Friday night at PSU's Recreation Building. With the loss, the Cardinals fall to 7-4 on the year, while the Nittany Lions improve to 9-2.

   Senior Eric Schulte (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) paced the Ball State attack with eight kills, while adding a team-high .636 (8-1-11) attack percentage. In the third set alone, Schulte scored six kills on eight swings with no errors for a .750 attacking mark.

   Unfortunately, Penn State's offense was the story of the match, as they hit .566 (52-9-76) and limited the Ball State defense to just 12 digs. BSU finished the match with a .079 (31-24-89) hitting mark, despite a .419 (17-4-31) rate of success in the final frame.

  Three Nittany Lions finished the contest with double-figure kills, let by Will Price with 15. Joe Sunder added 13 kills and Max Lipsitz posted 12, with each hitting above .700 for the night.

   After falling behind 7-4 early in the opening set, a block from J.D. Gasparovic (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville H.S.) and Lee Meyer (Cinicnnati, Ohio/Moeller H.S.), followed by a kill from Anders Nelson (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls H.S.) helped BSU rally within one at 7-6.

   Ball State remained within three at 13-10 after a kill from Gasparovic, but Penn State followed with a Price kill and added four more points to pull ahead 18-10. From there, the hosts went on to win the game 30-18 on a BSU attacking error.

   The Cardinals opened the second game strong, with a pair of blocks, while a kill from Jamion Hartley (North Chicago, Ill./North Chicago H.S.) keep the Cardinals within one point at the 6-5. Unfortunately, the hosts rattled off six of the next seven points to build a commanding 12-6 advantage. After pulling ahead by 10 at 18-8, PSU won the frame 30-15 on a Lipsitz kill.

   Larry Wrather (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forrest H.S.) scored a kill to open the third set for the Cardinals, who went on to take a 7-5 lead after a kill and block from Gasparovic. A Penn State service error would help the Cardinals maintain a one-point lead at 10-9, however, five straight Nittany Lions points forced BSU to call timeout trailing 14-10.

   Two Matt Sprague (Ballwin, Mo./Marquette H.S.) kills on the next three plays gave Ball State hope of a come-back, only to have Price and Ryan Wolf tally back-to-back markers to help Penn State pull away. The home team went on to win the final game 30-22 on a Sunder kill.

   The Ball State men's volleyball team returns to action Saturday, when it visits Saint Francis (Pa.) for another 7 p.m. first serve.