Men's Volleyball Returns to the Gates Sports Center

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FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- The IPFW men's volleyball team will host Ball State and No. 8 Ohio State this weekend at the Gates Sports Center. The Mastodons will battle the Cardinals on Thursday night and then come back with a match against Ohio State on Saturday. Each game will start at 7 p.m.

ABOUT IPFW
The IPFW Mastodons recently went 2-1 against ranked teams inside the AVCA Coaches Poll Top-15 in a seven-day span. IPFW defeated then-No. 10 Penn State on March 9 in five sets, before returning to the court and topping No. 15 George Mason five days later. On March 16, the squad fell to No. 3 Long Beach State in a tightly-contested three-set match in Long Beach, Calif.

The Mastodons picked up nine points in the AVCA national poll, and they are now the top team in the Others Receiving Votes category, and three away from 15th place USC. The last time IPFW was ranked inside of the Top-15 was in the March 3 poll in 2008, in which the 'Dons were ranked 15th.

The Mastodons are 9-8 this year, and 2-3 against nationally ranked teams, with three games remaining on the schedule against teams currently inside of the top-15 (Ohio State, Lewis, and Loyola), all three at the Gates Sports Center.

ARNIE BALL RECOGNITION NIGHT
Thursday night's contest against Ball State will serve as Arnie Ball Recognition Night, in which IPFW will honor its legendary coach for his induction into the AVCA Hall of Fame.

BLUE OUT
Saturday evening at 7 p.m. the Mastodons will host eighth ranked Ohio State at the Gates Sports Center in the program's "Blue Out", in which fans are encouraged to wear blue, and $1 from every ticket sold will go to help find a cure for prostate cancer.

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS

Ball State is 12-5 overall with a 3-5 mark in MIVA action. The Cardinals have won four-straight by recording 3-0 victories over Sacred Heart, Belmont Abbey, and King. Their best win during that stretch came on March 10 with a 3-1 win over No. 10 Penn State.

It has been a unique season for Ball State as they won their first eight games of the season, but then stumbled to lose five-straight to end the month of February. The Cardinals are 6-3 on the road with two of those losses coming against ranked opponents (No. 6 Ohio State, No. 12 Lewis).

Greg Herceg is having a great year for Ball State as he leads the team in kills with 215. Herceg averages 3.84 kills per set, hitting at a .205 clip. He also leads the team in service aces with 22.

Ball State has two players on the roster with 80 blocks or more. Matt Leske leads the club with 81. He has also recorded 94 kills, fourth-best on the team.

SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES (No. 8)

Ohio State will play at Ball State on Friday, March 22 before visiting the Gates Sports Center on Saturday evening. The Buckeyes are now 15-3 after defeating Penn State 3-0 last weekend. The win over PSU lifted Ohio State to No. 8 in the AVCA Coaches Poll.

After losing two out of three matches in the Outrigger Tournament early in the season, the Buckeyes got back on track by winning 10-straight matches. Lewis pulled off a road win at Ohio State, but the Buckeyes are taking a three-match winning streak into the weekend.

Ohio State has four players with 100 kills or more, bringing a balanced attack to the Gates Sports Center. Michael Henchy leads the team with 221 kills. Henchy has started in all 18 contests and is averaging 3.45 kills per set. He is also the team leader in hitting percentage at .362.

Leading the defense will be Brennan Anderson and Grayson Overman. Anderson is the dig leader on the team with 213 and Overman stays at the net with a team-high 77 blocks.

ALL-TIME SERIES

IPFW has a 26-63 all-time record against Ball State, as the teams have been streaky in the all-time series. Ball State jumped out to a 32-2 lead in the series from 1981 until 1991; however, IPFW countered by winning 12 of the next 13 meetings. Lately the Cardinals have had their latest run in the series, with 10 straight wins until the Mastodons snapped that skid last season in Fort Wayne by a 3-1 score. IPFW made it two in a row with another win over Ball State earlier this season as the 'Dons took a 3-1 win in Muncie on Feb. 13

Saturday marks the 100th all-time meeting between IPFW and Ohio State, the longest-running series that IPFW has in its record books. The Buckeyes lead the series 66-33. Ohio State won 18 of the first 19 matches and has most recently won 11 straight, including a 3-1 victory early this season in Columbus.

MASTODONS RECEIVE VOTES
The IPFW men's volleyball team picked up nine points in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll. They are the top team in the Others Receiving Votes category and are just three votes away from No. 15 USC.

LAST TIME OUT

IPFW's attempt to knock off a third straight opponent were thwarted, as the Mastodons fell in three sets to No. 3 Long Beach State by a 3-0 score (26-24, 25-17, 25-20). The Mastodons had recently defeated No. 10 Penn State and No. 15 George Mason heading into the meeting with the 49ers.

Eddie Rivera knocked down a team-high 11 kills, while Andy Sellan chipped in 10, and Rob Samp seven. Omar Rivera gave out 32 assists over the three sets, as Luis Bertran had 10 digs, his sixth straight match with double-figure digs this season. Samp led the team with six blocks, while Omar Rivera had the team's only service ace.

The Mastodons led the 49ers by four at 16-12, and kept the margin at three at 20-17 before the hosts ran off five straight points to turn the three-point deficit into a two-point advantage. IPFW fought back to tie the score at 24 apiece, but the hosts answered back with back-to-back kills to close the set with a 26-24 49er win.

IPFW led briefly in the second set, and went back-and-forth with the hosts until Long Beach State rattled off four straight points to take a 9-5 lead. The 49ers would not give up the lead, despite the Mastodons fighting back to within two at 11-9. A 5-2 LBSU run pushed the hosts ahead, as they took the second set 25-17.

The third set saw six ties and three lead changes, with IPFW leading 14-13 halfway through the set. Trailing for the final time, Long Beach State opened a 8-1 run to lead by six at 21-15, and held off the Mastodons for the 25-20 third-set win.

FEB. 13 BALL STATE RECAP

IPFW lost the first set at Ball State, but they came back to win three straight to win on the road 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-21).

Three players reached a double figure kill total in the win as freshman Andy Sellan finished the game with a team-high 16. Sellan added seven digs and four blocks to his stat line, ending the game with 18 points. Eddie Rivera played very well against Ball State as he recorded a double-double against the Cardinals with 14 kills and 13 digs.

Anthony Randolph and Ramon Burgos were also involved offensively ending the game with 10 and nine kills respectively. Randolph added eight kills and five blocks and Burgos hurt Ball State in the middle by hitting .500 against the Cards.

Omar Rivera was responsible for setting up the hitters as he ended the game with 45 assists. Rivera also chipped in with nine digs.

FEB. 15 OHIO STATE RECAP

IPFW won the first set at Ohio State, but the Buckeyes responded by taking the next three as they went on to record a 3-1 win (31-29, 23-25, 18-25, 23-25).

Eddie Rivera recorded his second double-double with 17 kills and 12 digs against Ohio State. He chipped in with three blocks, an assist and a service ace to fill up the box score.

Ramon Burgos and Andy Sellan each recorded 11 kills for the Mastodons. Omar Rivera was also an impact player for IPFW as he recorded a double-double with 49 assists and 12 digs.

Anthony Randolph and Bryan Saunders recorded seven kills each against the Buckeyes. Saunders added five blocks and Randolph made seven digs.

~ Feel the Rumble ~

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics

Men's Volleyball Returns to the Gates Sports Center

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