Ball State Rallies To Top IPFW, 3-2

MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State men's volleyball team rallied from a two-game hole to post a 3-2 (28-30, 30-32, 30-22, 30-20, 15-6) victory over Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association and in-state rival IPFW Thursday night at Worthen Arena.

   With the win, the Cardinals even their MIVA record at 3-3 and climb to 9-4 overall on the season. The Mastodons fall to 6-7 (2-4 MIVA) with the loss.

   For the second-straight match junior J.D. Gasparovic (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville H.S.) was a main component in the Cardinals victory, racking up a team-high 18 kills to go along with a match-best and career-high 14 (one solo and 13 assists) total blocks. Gasparovic's 14 total blocks, which are a BSU rally-scoring record for blocks in a match, were also four-and-a-half more than the entire IPFW squad which finished the night with 9.5 team blocks.

   In addition to Gasparovic, three other Ball State players logged double-digit kills in victory, as redshirt freshman Jamion Hartley (North Chicago, Ill./North Chicago H.S.) smashed 14, junior Lee Meyer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller H.S.) added 11 and junior Anders Nelson (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls H.S.) blasted 10.

   Darryl Shank paced the Mastodon's offense with a match-best 20 kills, while Elon Fyfield added 13.

   Defense was the key to the Cardinals' victory, as BSU limited IPFW to a -.050 (26-31-100) attacking percentage in the final three games. As a team, Ball State finished the match with a season-high 22.5 team blocks, which are the second-most blocks in a five-game match for the Cardinals in the rally-scoring error. BSU's rally-scoring record for blocks in a five-game match is 25.5 at George Mason (Feb. 8, 2008), in a match which a then-freshman Gasparovic posted his previous career-high of 13 total blocks.

   On the offensive side, the Cardinals finish the match with a .294 (63-21-143) attacking percentage, including hitting over .425 in the final two games. IPFW finished the night with a .076 (57-44-170) rate of success after hitting negative in the final three games.

   In the backcourt, the Mastodon's Shaun Dryden collected a match-high 17 digs, while senior libero Billy Ebel (Lenexa, Kan./Bishop Miege H.S.) paced the Cardinals with 15 digs. Fellow BSU senior Matt Sprague (Ballwin, Mo./Marquette H.S.) also tallied double-figure digs in the win, with a season-high 11.

   The Ball State men's volleyball team returns to action tomorrow night (Friday), when it faces No. 15 Lewis in another 7:30 p.m. showdown at Worthen Arena.