Feb. 16, 2008

Box Score

Muncie, Ind. - The Mercyhurst volleyball team had its two-match win streak end Saturday in a three-game loss to Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association opponent Ball State. The Cardinals defeated the Lakers 30-24, 30-21, 30-27.

After losing nine matches to start the year, Mercyhurst had turned its season around with two straight victories, but Ball State was too strong. The Lakers struggled to find offensive rhythm and hit just .082 for the match. The Cardinals finished at .288 for the match.

Mercyhurst fell behind 13-5 in the opening game before head coach Ryan Patton called a timeout to settle down his squad. The Lakers came out of the break and scored nine of the next ten points to tie the game at 14-14. Mercyhurst continued to push the Cardinals and trailed 22-21 late in the opening game but Ball State closed with an 8-3 run to win the stanza.

In the second game, Mercyhurst battled from behind to tie the score at 15-15, forcing Ball State to use a timeout. The Cardinals regrouped to score the next four points and never looked back in a 30-21 win. The final game was close until Ball State scored 12-of-18 points to take a 28-20 lead. Mercyhurst scored seven of the next eight points but the Cardinals put the match away on a Todd Chamberlain kill.

Junior Jeff Hartman led Mercyhurst with 11 kills and Dave Newman added nine and a .333 attack percentage. Newman added seven blocks and David Hatten finished with 22 assists, nine digs and five blocks.

Chamberlain had a game-high 13 kills for Ball State and Patrick Durbin finished with 12.

Ball State won its fourth straight contest, including two victories over teams ranked in the top 15, to improve to 9-6 on the season and 4-1 in MIVA. Mercyhurst falls to 2-10 overall and 0-4 in conference play. The Lakers will look to start a new winning streak Thursday when Mercyhurst plays at Princeton in a non-conference tilt at 7 p.m.