MVB Drops in Four to Purdue Fort Wayne

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Ball State men's volleyball fell 1-3 (19-25, 15-25, 25-16, 15-25) to Purdue Fort Wayne Saturday night on the road in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The Mastodons (11-12, 2-10 MIVA) immediately set the tone, opening set one with a 4-1 lead. It was all Purdue Fort Wayne from there as the home team paced the Cardinals (17-11, 9-6 MIVA) through a 16-7 advantage. Ball State was able to put to together four-straight with hopes of building some momentum, but the Mastodons shut it down quickly with the help of an Axel Melendez Watts ace. Remaining in control, Purdue Fort Wayne secured set one on a 25-19 kill.

Coming out in set two, Ball State played a much closer game, going point for point with the Mastodons through an 8-8 tie. Purdue Fort Wayne put up two to follow, taking the lead and never looking back. At 25-15, the Mastodons shut down the Cardinals for the set two point.

Set three looked like it was going to start in a similar fashion to the first after Purdue Fort Wayne jumped ahead 4-1. However, despite their position, the Cardinals were able battle back and even the playing field at eight. Ball State kept its foot on the gas, taking the lead at 11-9. The offense stayed hot, adding eight kills in the second half of the frame to hold off the Mastodons at 25-16.

Despite the team's run in set three, Ball State was unable to stop the Mastodon's attempts entering the fourth frame. Purdue Fort Wayne completed the upset with a 25-15 final set.

Patrick Rogers put down 15 kills on the night, the most from the Cardinals offense.

Leading in digs was Wil Basilio with nine.

Ball State will look ahead to next week for the team's final regular season match against Loyola Chicago. The match will take place at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday, Apr. 12 in Chicago, Illinois.

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Team Stats

Patrick Rogers

Ryan Louis

Wil Basilio

Braydon Savitski-Lynde

Players Mentioned

Wil Basilio

Patrick Rogers