MUNCIE, Ind. – The Urbana men's volleyball team fell 3-0 to Ball State Thursday night inside Worthen Arena. The Cardinals won by set scores of 25-14, 25-18 & 25-20.
Tyler Chavez led Urbana with seven kills along with three digs and a block.
Matt Wheeler had an efficient night, hitting a team-high .364 with five kills on 11 attempts.
Jack Brinkman and
Liam Morrissey each had four kills. Setter
Chaz Hafer posted 17 assists, team-high seven digs and an ace.
Ball State hit .429 overall as a team and never trailed in the match. The Cardinals used a run midway through each set to gain control.
UU tied the opening set at 8-8 following a kill by
Preston Kent, but the hosts raced out to a 17-9 advantage with a 9-1 run to coast to a 1-0 lead in the match.
In the second stanza, a kill by Wheeler tied the score at 12-12 after the Blue Knights had trailed by three earlier in the set. However, Ball State would stretch the lead out to six following a 7-1 run that was built off four Urbana errors. The Cards held on for the 2-0 advantage.
The trend continued into the third frame as the Cardinals countered with a 7-3 run in response to a Morrissey kill that had brought the Blue Knights back within three. Ball State moved ahead 20-13 and closed out the match.
Urbana (0-11) hit .130 overall as a team, improving its percentage each set. The Blue Knights posted a team-high 10 kills in the third while hitting .240.
Ball State's Brandon Shepherd led with 10 kills while Blake Reardon and Wil McPhillips each had nine.
UP NEXT: Urbana wraps up a six-match road trip tomorrow night when it travels to Purdue Fort Wayne.
