A box of chocolates will not heal the heartbreak that the Ball State University men's volleyball team experienced Valentine's Day eve.
Ball State lost 3-1 (30-28, 36-34,26-30, 30-25) at conference rival Quincy University, snapping the Cardinals' 21-match winning streak over the Hawks dating back to 2001.
"Quincy is playing well right now," coach Joel Walton said. "They are just playing better than they have been the past three years. They played real aggressive defense. We got blocked too much by them."
Walton said that Quincy (3-5, 1-2 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) took control of the match with their serving. Quincy has six aces on the night compared to one from Ball State.
"They served us tougher than we served them," Walton said. "With our serve, we weren't putting the pressure on them they put on us.
Quincy's Joe Asher led both teams with a match-high 14 kills.
"Joe Asher did a really nice job for them," Walton said. "He hits really good shots."
Ball State middle attacker J.D. Gasparovic led both teams in blocks with eight, while outside attacker Lee Meyer had a team-best 13 kills.
Ball State drops to 7-3 overall, with a 2-3 record in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association play. The Cardinals have now lost two of their last three after having a six-match winning streak.
"It really hurts us as far as the overall league race," Walton said."We don't want to go on the road in the tournament for a quarterfinal match."
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