Upcoming Schedule
March 18 - vs. Princeton - 7:30 p.m.
March 20 - at Lindenwood - 7 p.m.
March 21 - at Quincy - 7 p.m.
After two weeks on the road, the Ball State men's volleyball team tweaked its lineup in a 1-1 weekend in two matches against Grand Canyon.
Twelve players played in Friday's match, followed by nine getting on the court on Saturday.
Head coach Joel Walton took a different approach than Grand Canyon, as he switched up his lineup by getting a majority of his 16-man roster some action in the double header.
"We played a different personal set and they stayed with their same guys," Walton said. "They played their same guys, so the guys who played a 5-set match well yesterday were expected to duplicate that effort."
The Cardinals dropped a five-set match to the Antelopes on Friday after leading the match 2-1 at one point.
The Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association foes battled again on Saturday night. After taking an early lead, Ball State finished off Grand Canyon in three sets to even the weekend series.
Senior outside attacker Matt Sutherland and junior outside attacker Marcin Niemczewski didn't see any action in Saturday's matchup. Both normally start for the Cardinals.
But Walton was pleased with the way his team finished the weekend.
"We've talked about the idea of changing our lineup, Marcin [Niemczewski] hasn't been playing very well," Walton said. "We wanted to try something a little bit different."
In absence of the two starters, sophomore outside attacker Mike Scannell earned the starting nod for the first time in his career on Saturday.
He also played his best match to date, finishing with 12 kills, one service ace and five digs.
Scannell is pleased by the way he and the team played in its second match of the weekend, but credits the contributions from his teammates.
"Everyone clicking makes everyone else play better, it's a team effort," Scannell said. "That's the best thing about volleyball: it's a team sport. Everyone played well and I ended up playing well so it worked out."
Ball State will look to carry its momentum on March 18, taking on Princeton at Worthen Arena before traveling to take on MIVA opponents Lindenwood and Quincy.
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