A month ago Ball State’s men’s volleyball team was 8-0, and on the cusp of a national ranking. Then Ball State fell to Grand Canyon, which started a five-match losing streak, and suddenly were 8-5 and at the brink of mediocrity.
Ball State finally got back on track and got into the win column against Sacred Heart in a clean sweep (25-16, 25-23, 25-16) in the first match of the Don Shondell Active Ankle Challenge.
“It feels great,” senior outside hitter Jamion Hartley said. “I’m just so glad we won.”
Hartley was an integral part to the team’s win, not only because of his match-high 12 kills, but because of what his presence on the court did to the Cardinal’s lineup.
The Cardinals’ recent struggles can much be attributed to their stagnant offense. In an attempt to remedy that coach Joel Walton moved his offensive juggernaut senior outside hitter Greg Herceg to the left side, in order to play both Hartley and Herceg at the same time.
Herceg is third in Division I-II volleyball this season in kills per set with 4.21, and Hartley has shown flashes of brilliance, registering 30 kills in one match a few seasons ago.
“We were trying something new tonight, and it worked,” Hartley said.
The Cardinals started slow, trading points with the Pioneers, but once they found their rhythm, they started imposing their will, as they did in the first meeting between the two teams earlier this year.
“A lot of it had to do with nerves,” Hartley said. “We’ve never played with two lefties at the same time, but after we got some good swings we settled in.”
Herceg looked like he was still getting accustomed to his new side throughout the match. Herceg was second on the team with six kills of his own, but was far off of his average.
“We’re not 100 percent comfortable with me being on the left side, but it’s working,” Herceg said. “I was getting unlucky, but I just need to find my go to shot like I had on the right side.”
Herceg’s move across the court put him in positions that he is not normally in, but against a lesser opponent Hereg was able to adapt, and start getting a feel for the new position.
“Greg played great middle-back defense, which he’s not used to doing,” Walton said. “It is not going to be nearly as easy against Penn State, Greg is going to have a trail by fire tomorrow night.”
Another change after the two-week hiatus was the serving of Leske. Normally a float server, Leske effectively challenged Sacred Heart all night with a jump serve that looked very natural.
“We were seeing that the pressure we were bringing from the service line wasn’t matching up to some of the better opponents, especially in our conference,” Walton said. “Matt has the ability to serve that kind of ball very well, so that was a change we’ve been working on the past few weeks.”
Defense has been the anchor for Ball State all season. The Cardinals are the best blocking team in the nation at 3.06 blocks per set, with middles senior Matt Leske and junior Kevin Owens both in the top five in blocks per set. They showcased their dominance at the net once again out blocking the Pioneers 17.5 to 3.
A lot of those blocks frustrated Sacred Heart’s main attacker Nick Hunt, who only connected for seven kills out of his 27 attempts. Sacred Heart as a team only hit .042 compared to Ball State’s .275.
While getting another win feels great for the Cardinals, their next opponent is right on the horizon. Ball State will take on No. 10 Penn State in the final game of the Don Shondell Active Ankle Challenge in about 15 hours.
“This is a non-conference match against a nationally ranked team, in our building, our guys should by fired up, and looking forward to that opportunity,” Walton said.
