Gasparovic Leads Ball State Past Saint Francis

   LORETTO, Pa. - - Behind a career-high 20 kills from junior J.D. Gasparovic (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville H.S.), the Ball State men's volleyball team rallied from one game down to post a 3-1 (29-31, 30-27, 30-28, 30-21) non-conference victory over Saint Francis (Pa.) Saturday night at SFU's DeGol Arena.

   With the win, the Cardinals improve to 8-4 on the year, while the Red Flash drop to 7-5 after the loss.

   In addition to his career-high 20 kills, Gasparovic finished the match with a .760 (20-1-25) attack percentage and a team-high five total blocks, including three solo stuffs.

   Freshman Jamion Hartley (North Chicago, Ill./North Chicago H.S.) also had a solid night from the attack line, posting 11 kills. Hartley also collected six digs and a block in the BSU victory.

   Senior setter Ethan Pheister (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) led the Cardinals from the service line with five aces, while dishing out 45 assists and collecting 12 digs for his first double-double of the season.

   Saint Francis' Jordan Varee paced all players with 25 kills on the night, while tying Ball State libero Billy Ebel (Lenexa, Ka./Bishop Miege H.S.) for match-high honors with 14 digs. Nick Rivett also finished the night with double-digit kills for the Red Flash, scoring 16.

   Both teams finished the night with .199 attack percentages, while the Cardinals held a 55 to 49 lead in digs and an eight to five edge in aces. Saint Francis held a slim 12 to 11 advantage in total blocks.

  Gasparovic opened the match with kills on his first two swings to help the Cardinals pull out to a 3-1 advantage in the first game. Saint Francis answered with a Varee kill and one of the team's six blocks in the game to tie the score at 3-3. With the score tied at nine, a 5-2 Red Flash run allowed the hosts to pull ahead by three at the 14-11.

   The Cardinals slowly chipped the lead away, and eventually pulled ahead 18-17 on back-to-back service aces from Pheister. After a Rivett kill tied the frame at 18, the teams battled to a 28-28 stalemate.

   BSU was the first to reach game point, as a setting error gave the guests a 29-28 lead. Unfortunately, Ball State would never get to swing for the game-winning point, as a service error knotted the score at 29. Saint Francis followed with back-to-back blocks, both including Patrick McManamon, to win the game 31-29.

   While the Red Flash capitalized on a kill and block from Varee to open game two with a 2-0 edge, the Cardinals used a service error and a pair of Lee Meyer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller H.S.) aces in a five-point run to pull ahead 5-2. Despite kills from Gasparovic and Anders Nelson (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls H.S.), Saint Francis would battle back to tie the game at seven on a Rivett kill.

    The Cardinals responded with the next two points, including a Meyer kill, and went on to take a four-point lead at the 13-9 mark after a SFU attack error. With the four-point lead still intact at the 15-11, two BSU errors and a McManamon kill helped the hosts battle within two at 16-14. A kill from Pheister pushed the lead back to three, at 17-14, only to have kills from Alex Fortney and Varee cut the lead to one, at 17-16, and force a Ball State timeout.

   A Saint Francis attack error and a Gasparovic hardwood smash after the break extended the BSU lead back to three at 20-17, while a block from Matt Sprague (Ballwin, Mo./Marquette H.S.) and Nelson pushed the score to 23-20. While the Red Flash managed to tie the score at 27, Gasparovic would not let the Cardinals go down by two games, posting a kill and a solo block to give BSU game-point at 29-27. Hartley followed with the game-winning kill to even the match at one frame apiece.

   The Red Flash jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the third game, thanks to two BSU errors and a Rivett service ace, only to see the Cardinals benefit from a service error and kills from Sprague and Gasparovic to pull ahead 4-3. After a Varee kill tied the game at four, the teams played to a 7-7 deadlock.

   Two BSU attack errors surrounding a Rivett kill helped SFU gain the momentum in the game, as they pulled ahead 10-7. Saint Francis eventually built a six-point lead at the 17-11 mark thanks to another Rivett ace. With the hosts holding a 23-19 lead, aces from BSU's Pheister and Dominic Spadavecchio (Palatine, Ill./William Fremd H.S.), as well as a Gasparovic kill, helped Ball State pull within one at 24-23.

   Moments later, a kill from Hartley and a SFU setting error tied the score at 26. With the score knotted at 28 thanks to a solo block from Pheister, a block assist from Gasparovic and Pheister gave the Cardinals game point at 29-28. Gasparovic would complete the Cardinals come-from-behind victory in the game, by providing the frame-winning kill at 30-28.

   The Cardinals pulled ahead early in the fourth game, as two SFU attack errors, surrounding a Gasparovic kill, helped BSU make the score 3-0. While Saint Francis scored the next two points, a kill from Hartley, an attack error and a Sprague smash pushed the Ball State lead to 6-2. A few plays later, Pheister's second solo block of the night gave BSU a 9-4 lead and forced a Saint Francis timeout.

   The Red Flash scored the first two points out of the break, only to have BSU rattle off the next five points and take a commanding 14-6 advantage. The Cardinals would take a 10-point lead at 18-8 thanks to a Pheister ace, before going on to win the game (30-21) and the match (3-1) on a Varee attacking error.

   The Ball State men's volleyball team returns to action Thursday, when it hosts Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association and in-state rival IPFW at 7:30 p.m. at Worthen Arena. The match will be webcasted live and free of charge by Ball State Sports Link on ballstatesports.com.