Men's Volleyball Travels to Phoenix for Two against Antelopes

Match Notes

PHOENIX, Ariz. - The IPFW Mastodons travel to face off in a pair of weekend matches against the Antelopes of Grand Canyon on Friday and Saturday.

Opponent: Grand Canyon Antelopes
When: March 1, 2013 and March 2, 2013 | 8 p.m. EST
Where: Phoenix, Ariz. | Antelope Gymnasium (2,000)
Live Stats: GCUlopes.com
Streaming Video: GCU Thunder Vision

SCOUTING THE ANTELOPES

Grand Canyon comes into the two-game weekend series with a 10-7 overall record, and have won four straight, including a weekend sweep at Quincy on February 22 and 23.

Ryan Mather leads a trio of players in triple-figure kills with 134, while Ben Ponnet has 124 and Gerrard Lipscombe 123. Keith Smith has dished out 667 assists, fifth most in the country this season.

Mather is hitting at a .390 percentage, third best in the NCAA, while he also leads the team with 56 blocks (1.06 per set). Ponnet has a team-best 16 service aces, while Trent Bruns has 116 digs (2.42 per set) for the high-water mark on the team.

LAST TIME OUT

The IPFW Mastodons stumbled on Saturday night, as the No. 12 ranked Lewis Flyers won in three sets by scores of 25-20, 25-15, 28-26 in a MIVA contest.

Eddie Rivera knocked down a team-high nine kills, while Ramon Burgos chipped in six. Rivera also led the team with nine digs and two blocks, while Keegan Robbins and Kevin Villela had the team's aces in the match.

IPFW (6-5, 3-3 MIVA) remained close throughout the first set, trailing by one at 16-15 before the hosts rattled off five straight points to lead 21-15. The Mastodons would climb to within four, but the Lewis (11-5, 7-0 MIVA) attack was too strong, as IPFW fell in the opening frame 25-20.

IPFW trailed by one at 15-14 in the second set, before Lewis' Jay Petty went on a serving binge, running off a pair of service aces, and serving the Flyers to a 6-0 run, and after a service error, Yiwei Zhou served the next four points for Lewis, including back-to-back blocks to end the set in a 25-15 advantage for the hosts.

Zhou helped put the hosts ahead 7-1 early in the third set, and Lewis led by seven at 14-7 before the Mastodons went on a run of their own, fighting back to eventually tie the game at 21 on a Villela service ace. The 'Dons forced extra play, tying the score at 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26; however, could not get over the hump, as the match ended on an IPFW service error.

IPFW totaled 36 kills in the loss, and hit .119 as a team, as Omar Rivera dished out 26 assists.

Lewis was led by Jay Petty who had 13 kills, while bobby Walsh had 11 and Geoff Powell 10. Walsh added a match-high seven blocks, while Petty had a pair of service aces.

TOUGH COMPETITION

Two MIVA opponents appear in the most recent AVCA Coaches Poll, with a third also receiving votes. In all, IPFW faces off against four teams currently in the top-15 of the Coaches Poll (Long Beach State/3rd, Ohio State/7th, Penn State/9th, and Lewis/10th).

ALL-TIME SERIES

IPFW and Grand Canyon have faced off eight times prior to this weekends' meetings in Phoenix, with IPFW holding a 6-2 advantage in the all-time series.

The teams have played every year since GCU was a first-year program in 2009, and IPFW won the first six meetings of the series, falling in just two total sets during that span. Last season in Fort Wayne the Antelopes turned the tables on the 'Dons, sweeping the first meeting before taking the Saturday finale 3-1.

HOME SWEET HOME

The 'Dons close the year by hosting six of the last eight matches. On Thursday, March 21 the squad hosts in-state rival Ball State, before playing host to Ohio State two days later. Pfeiffer and Limestone each make a trip to Fort Wayne on March 29 and 30, respectively, before IPFW takes its final road trip to face Lindenwood on April 5 and Quincy on April 6. The team returns home to host Loyola on April 10, before hosting Lewis - last season's MIVA Tournament Champion - on April 13.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

In his first week in an IPFW uniform, freshman Andy Sellan was named the MIVA Offensive Player of the Week. Sellan led IPFW with 22 kills over the weekend as he hit at a .471 clip while only committing six errors on 34 total attacks. His best match came against Cardinal Stritch, where he recorded 12 kills on 16 attempts in just two sets of action. Sellan added three digs and three blocks against the Wolves. The freshman jumped into the starting lineup for each match this weekend and responded with two service aces, five blocks, three digs, and one assist.

MIVA VOLLEYBALL

To follow all the action in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) visit the website at www.mivavolleyball.com. You can also find MIVA on Facebook at MIVAVolleyball and on Twitter @MIVAVolleyball.

~ Feel the Rumble ~

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics

Men's Volleyball Travels to Phoenix for Two against Antelopes

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