MATCH STATS
- #3 UC Irvine def. #11 Ball State, 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-20)
- UCI improves to 12-5; BSU falls to 11-8
- Irvine, California
- Attendance: 274
- Box score
IRVINE, Calif. – After a gut-wrenching loss to IPFW the night before in 5 sets, #3 UCI spent little time and even less energy in dispatching #11 Ball State Thursday night, 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-20). UCI outhit (.357-.165), outkilled (40-34), outaced (4-3), outdug (26-24) and outblocked (9-4) the visiting Cardinals in a little over an hour and a half.
The Anteaters were led by Joel Schneidmiller with 10 kills and only 1 hitting error on 15 swings, accounting for a ridiculous .600 hitting percentage. He also added a match-high 6 blocks, dug 5 balls and added an ace. Aaron Koubi and Karl Apfelbach both contributed 9 kills, with the former doing so while hitting .350 on the night. Austin Wilmot and Scott Stadick accounted for the remainder of the Anteater offense, with 6 kills each. Wilmot hit .308 with 4 blocks, while Stadick hit .667 (6-0-9) and blocked 4 balls, accounting for the match’s only solo block. Setter Dante Chakravorti ran the offense by dishing out 33 assists. Libero David Parker finished with a match-high-tying 7 digs.
Ball State, in their penultimate match out west for spring break, was led by Matt Walsh with 8 kills. Walsh also contributed team-highs of 4 blocks and 2 aces. Matt Szews added 7 kills and the Cardinals’ only other ace. Szews also dug 3 balls and blocked 2 more. Setter Jake Romano distributed 31 assists. Leading the floor defense was Mitch Weiler with a match-high-tying 7 digs. Anthony Lebryk had 5 kills on 5 swings, his first career perfect attacking match.
Ball State rounds out their West Coast trip with a match at UC Santa Barbara Saturday evening. They swept UC San Diego on Saturday the 3rd and knocked off Concordia-Irvine in 4 sets on Wednesday the 7th.
PRESS RELEASE
Courtesy of Ball State Athletics
IRVINE, Calif. – The 10th ranked Ball State men’s volleyball team fell to No. 3 UC-Irvine, 3-0 (23-25, 15-25, 20-25), Thursday evening in Irvine, California. This snaps the Cardinals’ seven match win streak.
Ball State was able to knock down 34 kills on 33 assists. The Cardinals added 24 digs, eight blocks and three service aces, but were only hit .165 percentage for the night. UC-Irvine was able to tally 40 kills for a .357 hitting percentage.
Matt Walsh was able to lead the team in kills with eight. Walsh also had two service aces and four block assists. Matt Szews was able to add seven kills while Anthony Lebryk and Ben Chinnici each had five kills apiece. Blake Reardon had four kills with three more from David Siebum. Mitch Weiler led the team in digs with seven. Weiler also had one block and one kill. Jake Romano had a team-high 31 assists.
The first set had 10 tied scores and three time changes before the Anteaters took the set, 25-23. Reardon, Lebryk and Walsh each had three kills in the opening set. Walsh also added one service ace and two block assists. The Cardinals finished set number one with 12 kills, a .214 hitting percentage, 12 assists, six digs and four block assists.
Ball State struggled in set number two with a hitting percentage of .032 on their 31 attack attempts. The Anteaters had 12 kills for a .478 hitting percentage and took the set, 25-15. Szews led the set with five of Ball State’s 10 kills. Weiler and Chinnici each had three digs with two digs added by Nick LaVanchy.
The third set saw improvements by Ball State, but it wasn’t enough to extend the match. UC-Irvine took set number three, 25-20. Walsh, Siebum and Chinnici each had three kills in the set. Parker Swartz, Szews and Lebryk knocked down one kill apiece. The Cardinals finished the final set with 12 kills on 12 assists along with a .269 hitting percentage. Ball State also had nine digs and two blocks.
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