The Cardinals started off strong, winning the first two sets with a strong attack led by its junior outside attackers Brendan Surane and Mike Scannell.
Throughout the first set, neither team held more than a 3-point lead. Surane sealed the deal with a kill in both the first and second sets, winning 25-23 and 25-22, respectively.
From there, the Cardinals began to struggle.
“We were getting a little too comfortable, we started to settle down,” Scannell said. “I think we took the pedal off a little bit, and [head coach Joel Walton] made some decisions, good changes, to allow us to rest up.”
Senior outside attacker Marcin Niemczewski saw his first action of the game after Walton took Surane out with the Cardinals trailing 4-2, and Scannell was replaced by redshirt junior outside attacker Edgardo Cartegena later in the set.
Ball State went on to lose the third set 25-17 and the fourth set 25-16. In those sets, sophomore middle attacker Matt Walsh stepped up for the Cardinals, getting eight of his nine match kills in the final three sets.
“It felt good, especially to get the win. I knew we were struggling, especially in the third, fourth and fifth set,” Walsh said. “I kind of had to step my game up, and I was glad I was able to and got the ball enough to be able to.”
A misalignment penalty gave Ball State the early momentum with a 1-0 lead in the fifth set.
The final set was back and forth, and Lewis held the slight 8-7 advantage when the teams switched sides.
From there, Ball State was able to pull away with a victory with a final set victory of 15-12.
Ball State is now 11-3 overall with a 5-0 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association record. The Cardinals have won eight consecutive matches, beating the three teams behind them in the conference rankings.
“Now I think we are going to be the front-runner in the conference,” Walton said. “We’re playing Lindenwood and Quincy next week, and both of those teams are going to be looking for an opportunity to send a message.”
While Walton is pleased where his team is in the standings, he knows there is more work to do in the upcoming week.
“We have to be more consistent, we have to get our offense clicking again. There are for sure things we want to be working on,” Walton said.
Offensively, Ball State was outplayed in kills (54-63) as well as attack percentage (.169-.247). Scannell led the Cardinals in kills with 14, followed close behind by Surane (13), Weiler (12) and Walsh (9).
Ball State returns to action on Feb. 25 against Quincy University at Worthen Arena. The match is set to begin at 7:30 p.m.
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