MUNCIE, Ind. – McKendree's men's volleyball team, seeded No.4, came up short in the MIVA semifinals, falling to the No. 1-seeded Ball State Cardinals.
Ball State had control of the semifinal match from start to finish, taking three straight sets to knock the Bearcats out of the MIVA tournament. The final set score were 25-23, 25-18, 25-21.
The Cardinals opened the first set on a 6-1 run, setting the tone early. McKendree would soon go on a 5-1 run, highlighted by kills from senior opposite
Bryce Wetjen and graduate outside hitter
Tyler Tripp and a block from senior middle blocker
Rolen Lively, Tripp, and Wetjen, to close their deficit to one point at 8-7. The Bearcats would fight to bring the score to the first tie of the opening set at 9-9 after back-to-back kills from Lively and Wetjen. McKendree would trade points back-and-forth with the Cardinals, maintaining possession of the lead. The Bearcats would claw the score to the second tie of the set at 20-20 after a block from Wetjen, redshirt sophomore middle blocker
Will Klimek, and redshirt senior outside hitter
Sam Hoskin. Ball State would not let up, scoring back-to-back points to stay in control late in the set. McKendree would withstand one set-point with a kill from Tripp, leaving the score at 24-23, but a service error from the Bearcats would give the opening set to the Cardinals.
McKendree grabbed the first point of the second set after a ball-handling error from Ball State. The Cardinals responded immediately, grabbing back-to-back points to take a one-point lead early. The Bearcats would knot the score at 5-5 after scoring back-to-back points, highlighted by a kill from Klimek. Ball State would go on a stretch of scoring back-to-back points, broken up here and there by McKendree's attempts to close the score deficit. The Cardinals reached the 20-point mark with a seven-point lead. The Bearcats would fight off two set points, but being down by six on Ball State's set point was too much for McKendree to overcome. The Cardinals would end the set with a kill, taking a daunting 2-0 lead on their home court.
In a must-win set for the Bearcats, McKendree put up a fight. The Bearcats found themselves down three points early in the third set, and responded with a three-point run, highlighted by kills from Wetjen and Tripp, to tie the score at 5-5. Ball State immediately ignited, going on a 6-1 run to reclaim their lead. McKendree would slowly claw their way back into the set, closing the gap at 17-16 after back-to-back points, The Cardinals would put themselves back up three points after back-to-back kills. The Bearcats did not let up, keeping the score within two points, but Ball State would earn set and match point with another pair of back-to-back kills. McKendree would fight off one match point with a kill from Wetjen, but the Cardinals could not be stopped. A kill from Ball State would close out the set and match, knocking the Bearcats out of the MIVA tournament.
Junior setter
Nate Flayter notched 29 assists, adding two kills. Wetjen had the hot hand, leading McKendree's offense with 10 kills. Hoskin and Tripp followed, each with six kills.
Flayter led the back court with seven digs, followed by Wetjen with four digs. Hoskin and Tripp each added three digs. At the net, the Bearcats totaled 5.5 blocks (11 BA). Wetjen led with 1.5 total blocks (3 BA), followed by Klimek, Lively, and Tripp each tallying one total block (2 BA).
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