#11 Ball State Sweeps Grand Canyon Behind A Matt Szews Double-Double

  0 Carly DeMarque | March 02nd, 2017 | College - Men's Indoor, MIVA, News

Match Stats

  • #11 Ball State def. Grand Canyon 3-0, (25-21, 25-10, 25-21)
  • Ball State improves to 14-4, 6-3 MIVA
  • Grand Canyon falls to 9-8, 5-4 MIVA
  • Hosted by Ball State
  • Match results

#11 Ball State rolled through Grand Canyon in a home match up 3-0, with freshman Matt Szews leading the pack with a double-double.

The Cardinals jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the first set. Brendan Surane slammed down five of his nine kills in the first set, hitting for .556. Ball State produced a total of 15 kills and seven blocks in the first set, 25-21, victory alone. Ball State held the Lopes to match-low -.458 hitting percentage in the second set, where Grand Canyon only put down three of 24 kills. The Cardinals came out strong, taking down the Lopes in a quick 25-10 second set.

The third set was more competitive, as there were nine ties and four lead changes throughout the set. The Lopes led the Cardinals 12-11, but a slew of errors kept Grand Canyon from taking the set, with Ball State completing the sweep at 25-21.

Leading the way for the Cardinals was freshman Szews with a double-double of 12 kills and 11 digs while Surane added nine kills. Putting up a strong front at the net was Matt Walsh who blocked a match-best 12 balls and Mitch Weiler added six.

For Grand Canyon, Matthew Kinnebrew led the way with five kills while Sky Engleman picked up six digs.

Press Release

Courtesy of Ball State Athletics

The No. 11 Ball State men’s volleyball team returned to Worthen Arena Wednesday night for round one against MIVA foe Grand Canyon. The Cardinals swept the Lopes, 25-21, 25-10, 25-21.

Freshman Matt Szewsproved once again to be a dominating force for the Cardinals. Szews led the team with 12 kills and 11 digs. Junior Matt Walsh also made his presence known with a team high 12 total blocks, three solo blocks and nine block assists.Brendan Surane added nine kills while Mitch Weilertallied seven. Senior Connor Gross had 35 assists.

The Cardinals came out ready to play, scoring the first two points of the match. Ball State then went on a 4-0 run making the score 7-2, causing the Lopes to call an early timeout. In the opening set, Surane led the way with five kills for a .556 hitting percentage. Szews added four kills and four digs while Walsh knocked down four blocks. As a team, Ball State had 15 kills and seven blocks in the set one victory, 25-21.

Set two was all Ball State and too much for Grand Canyon to handle. The Cardinals won the set with a score of 25-10. Ball State had 10 kills while the Lopes were 3/24 in kills. Szews led the set with three kills and Surane, Weiler and Walsh each added two.

The third set was back and forth with nine tied scores and four lead changes, but the Cardinals were able to finish the match with a 25-21 set three victory. Ball State had 15 kills, 15 digs and three blocks in the final set. Szews had five kills, one being the match winner, and a set high seven digs. Gross, Weiler and Alex Piaeach knocked down three kills.

“Our guys really understood our game plan tonight,” said head coach Joel Walton in a post game interview. “Our defense was in the right place at the right time. We put a lot of pressure on them and did a great job tonight with our blocking.”

“Grand Canyon is going to come out again tomorrow night motivated and ready to play us again,” added Walton. “We have to come ready and try to not let them get on track.”

The Ball State men’s volleyball team (14-4, 6-3 MIVA) will look to take down the Lopes once again tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in Worthen Arena.

For the most up-to-date news on the Ball State men’s volleyball team, please follow @BallStateSports and@BallStateMVB.

Press Release

Courtesy of Grand Canyon Athletics

Three days after nearly pulling an upset on the best team in the country, the GCU men’s volleyball team was unable to match the same intensity and lost a three-set match to No. 11 Ball State on Wednesday evening. The Lopes were defeated by scores of 25-21, 25-10, and 25-21 and their record falls to 9-8 for the season.

Grand Canyon had a tough time from the start of the match. The Lopes quickly fell behind 7-2 in the first set and never gained the lead. Offensively, GCU tallied eight kills in the set, a game high, and were led by three kills each from Matthew Kinnebrew and Shalev Saada.

The struggles continued in Set 2 as Ball State again got out to an early lead, up 9-3, and never looked back. Grand Canyon committed 14 attacking errors during the set and struggled to earn side outs.

The Lopes rallied back in the third set to take a 12-11 lead over Ball State. Attacking woes then struck GCU again as the Cardinals regained the lead and went on to win the set, and the match, by a score of 25-21.

GCU will play for a better result tomorrow night as the Lopes face Ball State again at 6 p.m. MST.

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About Carly DeMarque

Carly DeMarque

Carly DeMarque has been involved with competitive volleyball for the majority of her life, playing competitively at the club and collegiate level for 15 years and coaching club for five. Now a retired Division I volleyball athlete out of McNeese State University, she continues her volleyball enthusiasm by stepping back into …

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