MUNCIE, IN–Visiting NJIT dropped a 3-1 decision at No. 16 Ball State Saturday afternoon inside Worthen Arena.

The challenging start to the Highlanders schedule, facing four straight teams ranked in the top 16, moved to 0-4 on the season while Ball State improved to 3-0.

The two teams were even at 1-1 after Ball State took the first frame 25-13 and the Highlanders bounced back for a 25-21 victory.  The Cardinals won sets three and four, 25-12 and 25-15 to secure the 3-1 home victory.

The NJIT offense was led by Wiktor Nowak's team-high 14 kills followed by newcomer Andre Aleixo's 11 kills.  Freshman setter Adam Uryniuk combined for a personal-best 24 assists while libero Diego Lopez registered five digs.

In the first frame, Ball State opened up the frame with a 9-3 run and extended its lead to as many as 14, 24-10.  NJIT scored three straight but the Cardinals cruised to a 25-13 victory to take a 1-0 advantage.

In the second set, neither team led by three through the late teens with NJIT using a 6-2 spurt to take a 21-19 lead, resulting in a Ball State timeout.  The Highlanders scored the last three out of four points of the set to tie the match at 1-1 with a 25-21 victory on a kill by Aleixo.  As a team, NJIT combined for a .321 hitting percentage with 15 kills.

Ball State took control of the third set, jumping out to a 6-1 advantage.  NJIT cut the Cardinal deficit to two, 6-4, but the home team went on a long 8-2 run, taking a 14-6 lead.  The home team increased its lead to a many as 10, 19-9, and the Cardinals cruised to a 25-12 win.

The Cardinals got off to a 7-3 start in the fourth frame, extended its lead to as many as nine, 19-10, resulting in an NJIT timeout.  Ball State secured the 3-1 victory with a 25-15 victory in the final set.

Ball State was led by Patrick Rogers 16 kills while Ryan Louis was the other Cardinal with double-digit kills.  Wil Basilio added nine kills.  As a team, the Cardinals held a 14-to-3 team blocks advantage paced by Jacob Surette's nine total blocked assists. 

Next Up
NJIT will close out its three-match road swing at Purdue Fort Wayne on Sunday at 5pm.

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