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Purdue Fort Wayne
Ball State
No. 7 Ball State Rallies from 0-2 Down to Top IPFW, 3-2
3/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
March 21, 2008
Muncie, IN - The No. 7 Ball State Cardinals regrouped from losing the first two games to visiting IPFW and roared back to beat the Mastodons, 3-2 at Worthen Arena on Friday night.
IPFW took the opening two games 34-32 and 30-23, before BSU swept through the final three, 30-23, 30-28, and 15-11.
The turning point in the match occured in game three when starting setter Dan McNerney and middle Josh Stewart collided and left the match. While they did eventually return, Ball State used that third game to break the 'Dons momentum and eventually win the match.
Patrick Durbin was a huge part of that comeback for the Cardinals. Durbin put down a match-high 29 kills while hitting .434. He also chipped in six block assists.
Todd Chamberlain (19) and Marcus Imwalle (16) also hit for double-digits for the Cardinals.
Ball State (15-6, 8-1 MIVA) used a 21.5 to 13.5 advantage in blocking to remain alone in first place in the conference.
Ethan Pheister paced the Redbirds in blocking with three solo and seven block assists.
IPFW (9-9, 3-5 MIVA) was led by senior outside hitter C.J. Macias with 21 kills, eight digs, and five block assists. Macias also had three aces.
The loss spoiled a tremendous effort from senior outside hitter Brock Ullrich. Ullrich posted a double-double with 18 kills and 13 digs. Ullrich hit .429 on the night.
Stewart and senior opposite Jason Yhost also hit in double-figures with 13 and 10 kills, respectively.
Freshman middle Oliver Kook has seven block assists, while sophomore libero Matt Pliske dug up 13 balls.
IPFW returns to action Saturday night, traveling to Chicago to take on the Loyola Ramblers. Match time is 7:00 p.m.
~Dons~
