Nothing was going right.
The Ball State men’s volleyball players’ attacks were being rejected at the net by Princeton University’s two- and three-person blocks. On offense, Princeton players found holes in the defense with ease.
Cody Kessel and Pat Schwagler were making life difficult for Ball State’s middle attackers Kevin Owens and Matt Leske, who along with the outside attackers, struggled to predict where Princeton’s offense was coming from.
Facing the prospect of being swept after dropping the first two sets, Ball State rallied to take the next three, stunning Princeton.
“We started figuring out how Princeton was running their offense and we did a better job blocking their middles,” Ball State head coach Joel Walton said. “We also brought in Matt Sutherland off the bench, and that gave us an offensive punch.”
Owens finished the match with eight total blocks, Leske had a team-high nine. Ball State’s defensive intensity increased as the game progressed, flying to the ball on defense and breaking the offensive rhythm Princeton had working.
Ball State finished the match with 19 total team blocks, one of their highest marks of the season.
With the offense struggling, Walton inserted Sutherland, who kick started the attack.
Trailing 21-20 in the fourth set, Sutherland fired an attack over the net and tooled it off Princeton blocker Chris Kennedy’s arms to tie the set.
Minutes later, he landed back-to-back kills to help Ball State take a 23-22 lead. His team would never trail again in the match.
“It’s tough when you have your back up against the wall being on the road and one set away from being swept,” Walton said. “To see your team be successful in that environment gives us lessons we can use later in the season.”
Just like playing against IPFW, Ball State started the fifth set with a strong defense. They jumped out to a 4-1 lead, utilizing three attack errors from Princeton players trying to hit around Ball State’s block.
Princeton committed 30 attack errors throughout the match, forced by Ball State’s defensive pressure throughout the final three sets.
Leading the final set 14-4, Ball State forced Princeton attacker Will Siroky into an attack error, completing the comeback.
“We expect to be in hostile environments where we’re not playing our best,” Walton said. “To have experience and confidence in those situations is very valuable.”
It’s the second time in three matches that Ball State came back to win a five-match set.
Not a bad result when at first, nothing was going right.
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