Friday, March 29
Fort Wayne, Ind.
7 p.m.
Purdue Fort Wayne
vs
Pfeiffer
Photo by: Lucas Carter
Mastodon Volleyball at Home this Weekend
3/28/2013 10:24:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Match Notes I Live Stats I Radio I Video
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The IPFW men's volleyball team will host Pfeiffer on Friday, March 29 and then end the weekend with a 7 p.m. match against Limestone on Saturday night. The Mastodons are now 10-9 overall after defeating nationally ranked Ohio State last weekend.
IPFW VOLLEYBALL
The Mastodons have been playing good volleyball recently, winning four of their last six matches. Four of the six games have been played against nationally ranked opponents. The streak started with a 3-1 win over Sacred Heard followed up by a 3-2 victory over No. 10 Penn State in the Gates Sports Center.
The team traveled to Long Beach State to face then ranked No. 15 George Mason and No. 3 Long Beach State. The 'Dons took down George Mason 3-2, but fell 3-0 against Long Beach State. The team most recently split a pair of games against Ball State and No. 8 Ohio State. The Cardinals defeated IPFW 3-1, but the Mastodons responded by beating the Buckeyes 3-2.
After this weekend IPFW will have four MIVA matches remaining on the schedule. They will be on the road at Lindenwood on April 5 and then play at Quincy on April 6. The final two games of the regular season will be against Loyola (April 10) and Lewis (April 13) at the Gates Sports Center.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Pfeiffer won 3-1 at Mount Olive on Tuesday night to improve their overall record to 14-6. The Falcons have won three straight matches and will head to Fort Wayne on Friday before ending the weekend at Ball State on Saturday.
Caleb Brophy is a high impact player on the Pfeiffer roster as the senior leads the team in kills with 264 and in service aces with 24. The Falcons have three other players with 100 kills or more on the year.
The team assist leader is David Specian who has recorded 737 through 20 matches. He is averaging 10.84 per set.
Defensively, Mark Hess leads the team in digs with 134 and Fabio Diniz is the block leader with 63.
SCOUTING THE SAINTS
Limewood won at Coker on Tuesday night and they will face Ball State on Friday before visiting the Gates Sports Center on Saturday. The Saints are 13-11 overall and are currently on a three match winning streak. They split the season series against Pfeiffer by taking a 3-1 win at home in the season opener, but they were defeated on the road 3-1 on March 13.
Limewood played two games versus Lindenwood earlier in the season, both of which resulted in 3-0 losses. Other common opponents that appear on the schedule include Lourdes who defeated Limewood 3-1 and Quincy who lost 3-0 to the Saints in the Lindenwood Classic in early March.
Eric Zaun and Kevin Hart each have over 200 kills on the year for the Saints. Zaun is the team leader with 236 and Hart is close behind at 210. Setting them up is the team's assist leader Andrew Pile who enters the weekend with 540 assists an average of 9.47 per set. Chris Mineo gives the coaching staff another reliable option at the position as he averages 9.56 assists per set.
Andrew Miller will play at the net for the Saints. He has a team-high 94 blocks to go along with 172 kills, the third highest total for Limewood. Adding to the defense will be the high level of play from Joe Gilliland who leads the team with 199 digs and Zaun who also gets involved defensively with 126 digs.
ALL-TIME SERIES
IPFW has never played Pfeiffer or Limestone before this weekend.
MASTODONS RECEIVE VOTES
The IPFW men's volleyball team picked up nine points last week in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll and they are still receiving votes this week after splitting games against Ball State and Ohio State.
IPFW earned six points in the latest poll in the Others Receiving Votes category. USC (24) and UC San Diego (11) are ahead of the Mastodons and Pacific (5), and George Mason (4) round out the category.
LAST TIME OUT
Ohio State became the second straight ranked opponent this season to come into the Gates Sports Center and leave on the losing side of the scoreboard, as the Mastodons knocked off eighth ranked Buckeyes 3-2 (28-26, 17-25, 20-25, 25-22, 15-9) in the 100th all-time meeting between the two squads.
Eddie Rivera and Andy Sellan each led IPFW with 15 kills, while Anthony Randolph chipped in 10. Omar Rivera dished out 48 assists, while he, Sellan, and JW Kiekhefer each added a service ace in the win. Rob Samp blocked a team-high seven kill attempts, as IPFW narrowly out-blocked the Buckeyes 17.0-to-16.5. Luis Bertran had his seventh straight double-figure dig match, as his 10 also led the team.
On March 9, Penn State came into the Gates Sports Center ranked 10th in the country, only to see the Mastodons win in five sets. The win is IPFW's third over a ranked opponent this season, as the 'Dons also defeated George Mason in five sets in Long Beach, Calif.
A thrilling first set saw the Mastodons lead by as many as five at 10-5, before the Buckeyes clawed their way back, taking a one-point, 19-18 lead late in the set. Nine of the ten's tie scores came after the teams were tied at 18, as a short run by either team was quickly countered by the other, as the teams tied each other at every score from 18 until the finish.
Tied at 26 apiece, IPFW got a kill from Eddie Rivera to have the hosts serve for set point, which the Mastodons took advantage and got a combo block from Rob Samp and Andy Sellan to give the 'Dons a 28-26 first-set win.
The second set started as a continuation of the first, as the teams found themselves tied at nine apiece before the Buckeyes ran off a 4-0 run, and never trailed again in the frame. IPFW fought back to within three at 20-17, before Ohio State ended the set on a 5-0 run to close out the frame with a 25-17 victory.
IPFW led early in the third set at 5-4, as the Buckeyes forced sideouts on each of the next seven Mastodon serves, pushing ahead to a 17-12 lead before the 'Dons could again string together back-to-back points. Down by five, IPFW scored three straight, utilizing back-to-back OSU attack errors to close the gap to 17-15. The Mastodons would get only as close as two the rest of the way, with the Buckeyes closing the match on a service error, putting the guests a set away from the victory.
IPFW fought back in the fourth set and never trailed, leading by as many as six at 17-11; however, Ohio State would not go away, closing to within as few as two - as late as 24-22 - before Anthony Randolph closed the door on any potential comeback with a powerful kill down the left side of the court, sending the match into a fifth and deciding set.
The 'Dons never trailed in the fifth set, as the squad jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead, capped by a combo block from Omar Rivera and Ramon Burgos. Ohio State cut the deficit to one at 5-4; however, IPFW used a 6-2 run to push ahead by five at 11-6. Ohio State closed to within three at 12-9, but a Sellan kill, an Eddie Rivera block, and an attack error closed the door on the match, giving the Mastodons the win.
TEAM NATIONAL RANKINGS
IPFW ranks 13th in digs per set (9.4), 17th in assists per set (11.44), and 18th in kills per set (12.31).
INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL RANKINGS
Luis Bertran is now eighth in digs per set posting an average of 2.58. Ramon Burgos comes in at 10th with a hitting percentage of .326 and he is also listed at 16th in blocks per set (1.19). Omar Rivera is also nationally ranked as his 9.96 assist per set total ranks him 20th overall.
MIVA STANDINGS
1) Lewis, 9-2
2) Ohio State, 7-3
3) Loyola, 6-3
4) Ball State, 5-5
4) Grand Canyon, 5-5
6) IPFW, 4-6
7) Lindenwood, 3-6
8) Quincy, 0-9
PFW vs Maryville (Men's Volleyball)
Tuesday, March 11
PFW vs Thomas More (Mens Volleyball)
Friday, March 07
PFW vs Lindenwood (Mens Volleyball)
Friday, February 28
PFW vs Queens (Mens Volleyball)
Thursday, February 13
