April 7, 2012

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Eddie Rivera tagged a game-high 15 kills, while Adam Quinn dished 48 assists, as the IPFW men's volleyball team ousts in-state rival Ball State 3-1 on Saturday evening at the Gates Sports Center in Fort Wayne, Ind. IPFW snaps a 11-match losing streak to Ball State with the win.

The Mastodons win their third-straight contest and climb to 13-12 overall (5-5 MIVA). Ball State drops its third consecutive match and moves to 12-10 in 2012 (4-7 MIVA).

With the score tied 3-3 early in the first set, IPFW reeled off three-straight points to take a 6-3 advantage. Phil Peterson and E. Rivera each added a kill in the stretch. Ball State answered quickly and evened the game at 10-10, as both offenses picked up their attack. Tied at 17-17, Ivan Matos smashed a kill, followed by a Mastodon team block put the home team in front 19-17. Feeding off late Ball State errors, IPFW earned set point at 24-21 and finished strong, as Matos blasted home a kill to clinch the set 25-21.

Off the left arm of Greg Herceg, Ball State bounced back in the second set, jumping out to a 9-6 lead. The visitors carried the advantage to 14-12, before Matos notched a point to cut the deficit to one at 14-13. Moments later, a kill from E. Rivera and a Ball State attack error moved the set to 19-19. After Ball State called timeout, the visitors moved ahead by two at 21-19 by forcing a Mastodon error and blasting a kill of their own. Down a pair late, IPFW responded in a big way, as Ramon Burgos and Matos tallied kills to move the set into overtime at 25-25. The duo didn't end there, though, as Quinn tossed back-to-back sets to Burgos and Matos, which led to two kills and a 27-25 IPFW set two win.

In the third frame, Ball State moved out a 5-3 lead, but the Mastodons, led by Matos, charged back and tied the set at 11-11. A 'Don service error on the next series gave the Cardinals the lead, one they wouldn't lose the rest of the frame. Ball State grew its advantage to four at 22-18, then earned set point at 24-21. On the final play, the Cardinals sat back and watched a Mastodon kill attempt sail out of bounds, handing Ball State set three, 25-21.

The teams traded points to open the fourth frame, as IPFW mustered two team blocks to make the score 9-9. The crowd pleasing stops ignited a 3-0 'Don run to put the home team up 12-9. The lead wouldn't last long however, as Ball State closed the gap to one at 14-13, then tied the game at 16-16 with two kills from Larry Wrather. The rivals exchanged points to 19-19, when E. Rivera tagged a kill and Ball State botched an attempt to put the home ahead two at 21-19. Led by the frontline, IPFW rolled to set point, where Ball State committed an attack error to end the match 3-1 in favor of the Mastodons.

E. Rivera led all players with 15 kills and nine digs, while Matos totaled 13 kills and Burgos 10. Quinn had 48 assists and JW Kieckhefer managed seven digs.

IPFW will hit the road for its next match on April 13 against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. EST.