Photo Gallery
MUNCIE, IND—Ball State, ranked No. 13 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division I-II Poll, won its sixth straight match of the season, topping, visiting NJIT, 3-1, in men's volleyball non-conference action Friday evening at Worthen Arena.
The Cardinals, winners of its last six in a row, improve to 8-1 on the season with its lone loss coming against University of Hawaii (3-1) on January 7. NJIT, which entered the match on a three match win streak, fall to an even 3-3 on the season.
The Highlanders opened the 2017 season at #10 Loyola-Chicago and two days later visited #6 Lewis. NJIT played a close match against Lewis, but dropped both matches before, coming home and winning three straight.
Ball State won the first two sets 25-19 and 25-17. The visiting Highlanders battled in the third set, having to use an extra point to secure the victory, 26-24, forcing a fourth set. The Cardinals closed out the match, cruising to a 25-12 victory.
Ball State's Matt Szews led the Cardinals offensively with 11 kills on 20 swings with just four errors, notching a .400 hitting percentage.
Brendan Surane added eight kills, hitting .700 for the match followed by Matt Walsh, who finished with a match-best .875 hitting percentage with seven kills on eight swings and no errors in the victory.
The Cardinals Connor Gross recorded a match-best 28 assists followed by Courtland Scharenbor, who posted 17 assists in two sets. Libero Adam Wessell dug-up a match-high 12 digs.
Ball State held a 12-to-7 team blocking advantage paced by seven blocks (all assists) from Walsh and in the service ace category, 9-to-3 led by Parker Swartz with three aces.
NJIT's senior
Jabarry Goodridge led the match with 15 kills followed by
Bailey Mundy and
Brad Thele, combining for six kills apiece.
Mundy, the Highlanders freshman outside hitter from Concord, CA, put together a strong performance, finishing with six kills on 16 attempts with one error for a .312 hitting percentage.
Setters
Ricardo Whitaker and
Pat Howell split time at the setting position, piling up 15 and 14 assists respectively for the Highlanders.
Defensively, libero
Shannon Heckman paced the Highlanders with eight digs followed by Goodridge (6) and Thele (4). In front of the net, Mundy and
Kevin Myren recorded four blocks each – Mundy (1 solo, 3 assists) and Myren (4 assists).
Ball State scored the first two points of the first set and extended its lead to six, 19-13, after a kill by Gross. After an NJIT timeout, the Cardinals used a 3-1 spurt, pushing ahead, 22-14, resulting in the Highlanders second timeout of the set. NJIT went on a 5-2 run, slimming the Cardinal lead to within five, 19-24, but a kill by Szews secured the win for Ball State, 25-19.
In the second frame, Ball State built a comfortable lead, 11-6 and later extended to 21-13. NJIT cut the lead down to as many as seven, 17-24, but it wasn't enough as the Cardinals took a 2-0 lead on a Highlander service error.
In the third set, which saw 15 ties and five lead changes, the visiting Highlanders opened the set ahead, 8-5, resulting in an early timeout by the Cardinals. The set went back-and-forth with neither team leading by more than one, until Ball State scored three consecutive points, pushing ahead by two, 22-20 on a kill by Blake Reardon.
The set saw three more ties, the final at 24, after a kill by NJIT's Myren. NJIT's kill leader on the season, Goodridge, followed with a kill of his own, putting the Highlanders ahead, 25-24, resulting in Ball State's second timeout of the set.
Out of the timeout, the Highlanders combined for a block assist by Myren and Mundy, taking the frame, 26-24, and forcing a fourth set.
In the fourth frame, Ball State combined for a .423 hitting percentage and cruised to a 25-12 victory to secure the win.
NJIT will have a quick turnaround when the Highlanders visit IPFW on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Fort Wayne. Last season, IPFW rallied back down, 2-1, and pulled out the 3-2 come-from-behind victory in Newark, NJ.
