Ball State's win over Ohio State didn't fix any of its issues this season. The team made that clear in losing to Loyola 3-1 (17-25, 25-21, 23-25, 17-25) on the road Tuesday.
If anything, the two-match series sums up Ball State's entire season -- clean execution in one match, off-balance and sloppy play in the next.
"I don't know if I can explain it," coach Joel Walton said. "It probably is a function of going on the road, and maybe it's a function of guys feeling too good about how we played against Ohio State and not realizing how hard we worked to get that win."
The reasons for Ball State's drop in play from Sunday were hard to explain for Walton. It was much more obvious why Loyola was able to control most of the match.
All three starting outside attackers - junior Larry Wrather, junior Greg Herceg and freshman Matt Sutherland - hit negatively. Sophomore middle attackers Matt Leske and Kevin Owens saved the team's final attack percentage of .165 with efficient offense at the middle of the net.
Outside attackers Shane Witmer and Julian Hartley did what they could offensively to keep the Cardinals in the match. Both former starters came off the bench to hit a combined .250 on 31 attacks.
Errors and free points that didn't come into play on Sunday made an untimely appearance on Tuesday. Ball State allowed nine service aces against Loyola after it gave up zero against Ohio State.
Loyola had a much easier time with Ball State's serves. The Cardinals failed to record a service ace for the second straight match.
"Their serve kept us off-balance," Walton said. "We killed any chance of our team putting in a strong offensive performance."
Blocking was one of the only things the Cardinals did well all night, besting Loyola 10.5-8 in the category. Leske kept up his recent defensive tear with seven blocks in the match, three of those solo, to carry the team at the net.
It didn't go far in stopping Loyola right-side hitter Joseph Smalzer, though. He hit 22 kills on 34 attacks to finish with an overwhelming attack percentage of .471.
The loss caused Ball State to drop to 4-5 in the MIVA and 12-8 overall, ending the team's .500 conference record two days after it was achieved.
Problems still exist for Ball State, but Walton said a 17-day break gives them more than enough time to correct them.
"If you've got one match left in the season, there's enough time to work and fix some things," he said. "What we're working toward is building more confidence, building more consistency, and making sure when we're playing those most important matches at the end of the year, our guys are stepping on the court and playing to the best of their ability."
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