Ball State's seventh-ranked men's volleyball team had three chances for a game point in the fourth game during the NCAA Volleyball Championship semifinal match. No. 1 ranked Pepperdine was able to escape the Cardinals' upset bid. The Waves held on as the Cardinals dropped a 32-30, 19-30, 20-30, 31-33 decision.
"Volleyball is so often a matter of inches and that's exactly what happened tonight in game four," said head coach Joel Walton during a press conference. "We had our chances tonight, especially in game four, but we just couldn't get it."
Ball State built a three-point lead halfway through game four after a kill from Josh Zuidema and a Pepperdine mistake.
Pepperdine came back to tie the game at 25 before First Team All-American Paul Fasshauer put Ball State ahead 26-25 with a kill. The game was tied on three occasions late before Keith Schunzel abandoned Zuidema's pass over his left shoulder to break a 28-28 tie and give BSU its first game point. Pepperdine replied and the game saw ties at 29, 30 and 31 before Pepperdine blocked an attack and broke out with the 33-31 game and match victory.
"Tonight was tough, but after we look back on the season, the team should be proud of what they were able to do," Walton added.
Fasshauer paced Ball State (23-8) with 13 kills, while Matthew Denmark and Kyle Weindel each added 12. Jary Delgado had a career-high of 17 digs.
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