There’s nothing left to hold back during a fifth set.
Ball State has proven that recently. Over the men’s volleyball team’s last three games, two of them have gone to a fifth set.
Both times, Ball State slammed the door in its opponents face.
“You don’t want to be passive because it’s not a game where you approach hoping to win points or waiting to see what happens,” head coach Joel Walton said.
Ball State knocked off Princeton in the fifth set 15-4, just a week after beating IPFW 15-10 in the fifth set.
Against IPFW, Ball State jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead, silencing a vocal crowd.
Walton attributed much of the success to the veterans on his team. Ball State’s senior class includes Graham McIlvaine, Larry Wrather, Kevin Owens and Matt Leske, who all get extensive playing time.
The group of seniors has seen nearly every scenario play out during their time on the team and knows how to approach different situations.
Junior outside attacker Matt Sutherland said when he’s introduced into a match, he tries to get the team’s energy up. The strategy worked against both IPFW and Princeton as the team was sparked by his entrance.
“Both times, we were on the road and had our backs up against the wall, and we fought back,” sophomore outside attacker Marcin Niemczewski said. “We worked together, communicated and played united volleyball.”
Niemczewski finished the match against Princeton with a career-high 25 kills.
The Cardinals trailed both matches at one point. Against IPFW, the team dropped the first set and dropped the first two against Princeton.
In both matches, Ball State stunned its opponent with swarming defense, not allowing outside attackers to get a clean attack off. Each attack was tooled to another defender who would set up the offense.
IPFW and Princeton called early timeouts, but there was already too much momentum. Ball State cruised through the rest of the sets before a block from junior outside attacker Shane Witmer ended the IPFW match, while an attack error ended the one against Princeton.
“We have guys who aren’t going to see anything new in their careers,” Walton said. “They know you have to be aggressive once you hit the fifth set. … Our guys put together some really nice defensive runs.”
Nice enough to end the fifth sets quickly, without danger of dropping them.
Read More
Turning the Tides: How Ryleigh Skaggs is changing Wes-Del girls' basketball
By Logan Connor / 5 hours agoHead coach Ryleigh Skaggs is looking to turn the narrative on Wes-Del girls’ basketball
Cardinals survive five-set marathon against Central Michigan, advance to MAC Championship Final
By Daniel Kehn / 16 hours agoBall State advances to the MAC Championship with a five-set marathon victory over Central Michigan
Ball State women’s basketball falls to No. 16 UNC in the Battle 4 Atlantis
By Elijah Poe / 17 hours ago“I'm really glad that I was able to come back in time to play because we're not going to get this moment back,” senior Madelyn Bischoff said about the 63-52 loss to No. 16 North Carolina. “Even though we didn't win, I do think that this is really going to help us in the long run.”
