The first serve of the 50th season for Ball State’s men’s volleyball team sailed over the net. And just as coach Joel Walton would have drawn it up, the ball was passed, set and then hammered back over the net by senior outside hitter Greg Herceg.
The left-handed cut shot by Herceg was the first of 17 kills for the senior. His 41.2 kill percentage had his teammates looking for the senior, just how he wanted it.
“I was definitely asking for the ball [throughout the match],” Herceg said.
Herceg led the Cardinals to a clean three games to none sweep of the St. Francis Red Flash (1-2). And while Herceg was on point and playing phenomenally, the rest of the team struggled at first.
“I am a bit disappointed with how we started out,” Walton said.
One kink that contributed to a rocky first set, that saw Ball State trail a majority of the way, was primary starter sophomore Shane Witmer missing most of the match due to illness.
“I actually took him out of the second game right before he was going to throw up,” Walton said. “If would have left him in there … it was starting to well up.”
With a roster teeming with experience, the Cardinals showed good resolve and were able to stay close the whole set, and eventually pull out a win 25-22. This was thanks, in large part, to Herceg and his eight kills.
“I thought I could use my experience to help the team out,” Herceg said. “I was playing well, and I knew I could put the team on my back.”
The second set saw Ball State take control more certainly, and keep St. Francis off-balance the entire way. The Red Flash utilized great back row play, registering 14 digs, to keep it close. But eventually Ball State’s offense eroded St. Francis’ defense, capitalizing with five more kills from Herceg and four kills from junior middle attacker Kevin Owens to win 25-21.
After the seven-minute intermission between the second and third set, the Red Flash came out red hot, and quickly jumped out to a nine-to-four lead. Then junior setter Graham Mcllvaine found Herceg, who finished with an emphatic spike.
After the change in possession, it happened to be Herceg’s serve, something he takes great pride in executing with exactness.
“[Missing serves] is my biggest pet peeve,” Herceg said. “I’m always working on perfecting it.”
Tossing the ball up high, Herceg timed his jumped and fired a spinning serve over the net. The serve discombobulated the Red Flash, not allowing them to get into their set, the result a weak return that was slammed back by the Cardinals — nine-to-seven.
Herceg drilled six more serves in a similar fashion, the last one resulting in one of Herceg’s match-leading three aces. The culmination of Herceg’s serving run — a 12-to-nine lead for the Cardinals.
“You just get out of the way [when a guy is on a roll like that],” Walton said. “That was just Greg in a good rhythm putting consecutive serves in play, letting us put a run together.”
Herceg was not out there just hitting the ball as hard as he could, he made sure that his serves were going to productive places.
“I made sure I was keeping [my serves] away from the libero,” Herceg said. “I wanted to try and hit towards their outside hitters, so their offense couldn’t set up.”
The Cardinals never looked back, and won the final set 25-21 to complete the sweep.
The Cardinals are back in action next week, as they go on a weekend, east coast road trip. They will play New Jersey Institute on Jan. 18 and Sacred Heart Jan. 19.
