Saturday, February 18
Fort Wayne, Ind.
7 PM
Purdue Fort Wayne
10-4,1-3MIVA
2
vs
3
Ball State
7-5,2-2MIVA
1
2
3
4
5
F
Ball St.
25
24
25
19
15
3
Purdue Fort Wayne
20
26
22
25
8
2
Team Stats
BSU
Pur-FW
Kills
48
61
Errors
20
34
Attempts
121
147
Hitting %
.231
.184
Points
77.5
72.5
Assists
45
58
Aces
3
6
Blocks
26.5
5.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
28
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OH/OPP
/ Men's VolleyballOH/OPP
/ Men's VolleyballOH/OPP
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's VolleyballJon Diedrich swings for a kill against Ball State on Saturday.
MIVA Championship Rematch Goes to No. 11 Ball State
2/18/2023 9:38:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Jon Diedrich tied a career high with 28 kills, but it came in a losing effort on Saturday (Feb. 18) evening on the Arnie Ball Court as the Purdue Fort Wayne men's volleyball team fell to No. 11 Ball State 3-2 (25-20, 24-26, 25-22, 19-25, 15-8).
It was a rematch of last season's Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association championship match and the Cardinals picked up the win again. Ball State out-hit the Mastodons .231 to .184, but the most dangerous hitter on the court was Diedrich. He earned his 28 kills by hitting .291 on 55 swings. He also added six digs.
The 'Dons held a 6-3 advantage in aces with Mark Frazier recording two aces to go with his nine kills. Zach Solomon dished out 47 assists.
After falling behind in the match, the 'Dons knotted it up with a 26-24 win in set two. They needed to comeback to do it as the Cardinals held a 22-20 lead following a Mastodon service error. A Bryce Walker kill made it 22-21 and then a Ball State attack error tied it at 22. Ball State did not call timeout, and Carlos Mercado followed with a kill to make it 23-22. The Cardinals then asked for time, and it worked as Solomon missed his next serve to knot it at 24. Diedrich delivered a kill for point 25 and a block by Frazier and Ryan Steponaitis delighted the homecoming crowd at Arnie Ball Court for point 26.
The 'Dons nearly rallied from a 16-10 deficit in the third set. The 'Dons got it to 23-22 and had a swing to tie it at 23, but a Ball State block put the Cardinals up by two. Ball State earned the next point to win the frame 25-22.
The fourth set was all Purdue Fort Wayne, out-hitting the Cardinals .519 to .167. But it flipped in the deciding fifth set. The Cardinals out-hit the 'Dons .455 to .000 in the final frame as they jumped out to a 7-2 advantage.
The 'Dons limited MIVA Preseason Player of the Year Kaleb Jenness to 14 kills on .195 hitting, but blocking was the story of the match, as Ball State recorded 26.5 blocks. That mark was the third-most in a National Collegiate volleyball match in the rally scoring era.
The 'Dons fall to 10-4 (1-3 MIVA). Ball State improves to 7-5 (2-2 MIVA). The 'Dons are back in action on Wednesday (Feb. 22) at McKendree.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
It was a rematch of last season's Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association championship match and the Cardinals picked up the win again. Ball State out-hit the Mastodons .231 to .184, but the most dangerous hitter on the court was Diedrich. He earned his 28 kills by hitting .291 on 55 swings. He also added six digs.
The 'Dons held a 6-3 advantage in aces with Mark Frazier recording two aces to go with his nine kills. Zach Solomon dished out 47 assists.
After falling behind in the match, the 'Dons knotted it up with a 26-24 win in set two. They needed to comeback to do it as the Cardinals held a 22-20 lead following a Mastodon service error. A Bryce Walker kill made it 22-21 and then a Ball State attack error tied it at 22. Ball State did not call timeout, and Carlos Mercado followed with a kill to make it 23-22. The Cardinals then asked for time, and it worked as Solomon missed his next serve to knot it at 24. Diedrich delivered a kill for point 25 and a block by Frazier and Ryan Steponaitis delighted the homecoming crowd at Arnie Ball Court for point 26.
The 'Dons nearly rallied from a 16-10 deficit in the third set. The 'Dons got it to 23-22 and had a swing to tie it at 23, but a Ball State block put the Cardinals up by two. Ball State earned the next point to win the frame 25-22.
The fourth set was all Purdue Fort Wayne, out-hitting the Cardinals .519 to .167. But it flipped in the deciding fifth set. The Cardinals out-hit the 'Dons .455 to .000 in the final frame as they jumped out to a 7-2 advantage.
The 'Dons limited MIVA Preseason Player of the Year Kaleb Jenness to 14 kills on .195 hitting, but blocking was the story of the match, as Ball State recorded 26.5 blocks. That mark was the third-most in a National Collegiate volleyball match in the rally scoring era.
The 'Dons fall to 10-4 (1-3 MIVA). Ball State improves to 7-5 (2-2 MIVA). The 'Dons are back in action on Wednesday (Feb. 22) at McKendree.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
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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
