Match Stats
- No. 13 Ball State 3, No. 10 Loyola 0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-19)
- Ball State moves to 18-9, 9-7 MIVA; Loyola falls to 16-11, 9-7 MIVA
- Muncie, Indiana
- Attendance: 817
- Box Score
No. 13 Ball State men posted a sweep of No. 10 Loyola on senior night to send off six seniors in style, but also more importantly to gain the Cardinals the No. 4 seed in the MIVA Tournament. BSU won the match 25-21, 25-15, 25-19.
Ball State hit .309 in the match and used 10 blocks and four aces to hold the Rambler offense at bay in the sweep. Loyola managed just a .092 offensive output for the night.
Freshman outside hitter Matt Szews put down a match-high 14 kills to lead the Cardinals. Senior outside Edgardo Cartagena followed with 12 putaways on a .550 hitting effort. Junior middle blocker Matt Walsh added seven kills and a team-best seven blocks, while freshman libero Nick Lavanchy and senior setter Connor Gross led the back court with eight digs apiece. Gross also chipped in five blocks.
Junior opposite Ben Plaisted was consistent as always for Loyola, supplying the team’s lone double-digit kill effort with 12 and adding a team-best three blocks. Junior middle Jeff Jendryk chipped in five kills, while sophomore outside Collin Mahan and senior outside Cole Murray put down four apiece. Mahan led the defense with 11 digs.
The teams split the first 16 points of the night, before Ball State gained control at 12-9. Loyola charged back to tie it up at 12, before taking a 15-14 lead of its own. The 6-2 run featured four Cardinal miscues. BSU answered with eight of the next 10 points, including two aces, two blocks and kills by four different players, to make it 22-17. Szews pounded down two more kills to seal the set.
Ball State raced out to a 15-8 lead in Set 2, beginning with a 4-0 run to start the stanza. Three kills by Cartagena and a trio of blocks aided the effort. The Ramblers scored three straight to slow the Cardinals momentarily, but BSU closed out the win with a 10-4 run, including six Loyola miscues.
Szews added four kills as the Cardinals cruised to a 13-7 lead in Set 3. The Ramblers cut the margin to four seven times, last at 20-16. Ball State ended the night by scoring five of the final eight points, four on kills, two by Szews.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy: Ball State Athletics
MUNCIE, Ind. – The No. 13 Ball State men’s volleyball team put up a dominating performance Saturday night as the Cardinals swept No. 10 Loyola. Ball State needed to sweep the Ramblers and win by a combination of 19 points in order to secure the 4 seed in the MIVA Tournament, and the Cardinals did just that.
Prior to the match, Ball State honored the six seniors for their hard work and dedication for the last four years. One of those seniors was Edgardo Cartagena, a three year letterwinner, who had a season-high 12 kills for a .550 hitting percentage. Cartagena also added four digs and three block assists. Senior Connor Gross had 33 assists, two kills and a team-high eight digs. Alex Pia, a senior from Johns Creek, Ga., added two kills, two digs and two total blocks.
Freshman Matt Szews led the team with 14 kills for a .400 hitting percentage. Szews also added three digs and one service ace. Junior Matt Walsh knocked down seven kills for a .357 hitting percentage, one service ace and a team-high seven blocks. Blake Reardon added four kills and seven digs. Freshman Nick Lavanchy tied with Gross for a team-high eight digs.
The opening set had 12 tied scores and four lead changes before the Cardinals took the set with a final score of 25-21. Szews knocked down six of Ball State’s 13 kills, including the set winner. Cartagena tallied four kills while Reardon, Gross and Lavanchy each added five digs.
The Cardinals dominated the second set and won, 25-15. As a team, Ball State knocked down 11 kills for a .474 hitting percentage and held the Ramblers to a -.080 hitting percentage. The Cardinals had 4.5 team blocks to Loyola’s one in set two.
After the 10 minute break, came out and quickly took a 9-4 lead and forced an early Loyola timeout. The Ramblers tried to claw their way back, but could only pull it as close as four points. The Cardinals were able to win the set and secure the match, 25-19, after a Szews kill from a Gross assist.
With the victory over Loyola and securing the number 4 seed in the MIVA Tournament, the Cardinals will now host their MIVA Quarterfinal match on Saturday, April 15. Ball State will take on Loyola again as they are the 5th seed in the tournament.
For the most up-to-date news on the Ball State men’s volleyball team, please follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateMVB.
Courtesy: Loyola Athletics
In Short
No. 13 Ball State (18-9, 9-7 MIVA) hit .319 to earn a 25-21, 25-15, 25-19 victory over No. 10 Loyola University Chicago tonight at Worthen Arena in the regular –season finale for both teams. With the loss, the Ramblers drop to 16-11 overall and 9-7 in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association play. Loyola loses the tiebreaker with Ball State, based on point differential (20-19), and will be the No. 5 seed in the MIVA Tournament, which begins next Saturday.
How It Happened
The opening set was a back-and-forth battle and Ben Plaisted’s kill knotted the score at 17. Following that tally, Ball State grabbed control of the set by responding with a 5-0 run to break open a 22-17 lead and never looked back en route to a 25-21 victory.
Five Loyola errors aided the Cardinals’ 10-4 run to commence the second set and BSU would roll to a 25-15 win. Through the first two sets, the Ramblers managed to hit just .049 (17-14-61), with Plaisted providing the bulk of the LU attack with nine kills.
Ball State raced out to a 9-4 lead in the third set and kept Loyola at bay, never allowing the Ramblers to get closer than four points the rest of the way as it earned a 25-19 victory that earned the Cardinals home court advantage for the MIVA Tournament first round.
Inside The Box Score
– Plaisted reached double digits in kills for the 17th straight match, finishing tonight’s contest with a team-high 12 stops.
– The Ramblers couldn’t get on track offensively and hit just .092 (28-20-87) for the night.
– Collin Mahan matched a career high with 11 digs.
– Matt Szews tallied 14 kills to lead Ball State.
Up Next
Loyola will face No. 4 seed Ball State in the opening round of the MIVA Tournament, April 15 in Muncie, Ind. The Ramblers will be the tournament’s No. 5 seed.
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