MUNCIE, Ind.  (April 16, 2011) – The Saint Francis men's volleyball team suffered a 3-1 defeat in its final non-conference match of the season at Ball State on Saturday evening at Worthen Arena.

 

Alex Kane (York, Pa./West York) had 16 kills, eight digs and six blocks for the Red Flash in a 15-25, 25-23, 23-25, 20-25 loss. SFU fell to 10-17 on the season and will close out the regular season with a Senior Day game versus Ohio State at 5 p.m. Sunday at DeGol Arena.

 

The Cardinals finished the match with a .209 (58-31-129) hitting percentage, while limiting Saint Francis to a .186 (43-19-129) mark. Ball State also held a 57 to 34 edge in team digs. BSU also out-aced SFU seven to one, while being out-blocked 15.0 to 9.5.

 

Adam Barba added nine kills for the Red Flash, Eric Syty (Clarence, NY/Clarence) collected a match-high seven blocks, and John Wappler (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) earned a team-best 12 digs.

 With Saint Francis holding a 2-1 lead at the start of the match, a kill from Dominic Spadavecchio and some strong serving from J.D. Gasparovic helped Ball State score the next six points and pull ahead 7-2. The Red Flash would draw within two points at 7-5 and again at 9-7, only to see BSU control play the rest of the set.

 Ball State reclaimed its five-point lead at the 13-8 mark, before pulling ahead by eight at 18-10. The Cardinals went on to win the frame 25-15 on a Gasparovic kill. The Cardinals hit for a .542 (15-2-24) rate of success in the opening game, led by a 3-for-3 effort from Jamion Hartley.

 The teams battled to a 12-12 stalemate in the second stanza, before back-to-back kills from Barba sparked a 3-0 run for the guests and gave them at 15-12 edge. The Red Flash extended the lead to four at the 18-14 mark, only to see Ball State battle back and tie the score at 19-19 thanks in part to a pair of kills from Wrather.

 Two consecutive SFU blocks broke the tie and gave the visitors a 21-19 edge. The teams traded the next six points, pushing the score to 24-23, before a BSU service error allowed Saint Francis to win the game 25-23 and even the match at one game apiece.

 With the Cardinals leading 4-3 in the third game, two blocks and a kill from Barba helped SFU rattle off the next four points and force a Ball State timeout at 7-4. Another Barba kill extended the lead to 8-4, and the edge remained four at the 14-10 mark when BSU was forced to call its second timeout.

 Trailing 16-12, a kill and ace from Larry Wrather bookended a 5-0 run for the Cardinals and gave the hosts a 17-16 advantage. Nelson added a pair of blocks, including a solo stuff, in the rally. With the score tied at 19-19, a kill from Lee Meyer and a Gasparovic solo block helped push the score to 22-19 and forced SFU's second timeout.

Gasparovic tallied an overpass kill after the break, moving the score to 23-19, while another Gasparovic marker gave BSU game-point at 24-20. While the Red Flash tallied the next three points, a Meyer kill ended the frame at 25-23.

 Saint Francis scored the first two points of the fourth frame, only to see the Cardinals answer with seven of the next eight to force a SFU timeout at 7-3. Nelson carried BSU in the run with four kills and a block assist. Three kills from Hartley helped BSU maintain the four-point lead at 11-7, while a Meyer ace pushed the advantage to five at 12-7.

The Red Flash would cut the gap to two points at the 15-13 mark, only to see BSU respond with the next five points, including a kill and two of aces from Nelson, to move the score to 20-13.

With Ball Sate leading 21-14 after a Gasparovic and Graham McIlvaine block assist, SFU rattled off the next three points to force a BSU timeout at 21-17. Moments later a Lucas Behringer kill and a SFU block brought the guests within two at 21-19.

However, a pair of costly Saint Francis errors pushed the score to 23-19 and gave BSU edge in needed to close out the match. A Wrather kill gave BSU match-point at 24-20, while a triple block from Nelson, Hartley and Wrather ended the set at 25-20 and the match at 3-1.

For all the latest information, notes, pictures and related links on Saint Francis men's volleyball, follow Director of Athletic Communications Bob Volkert on Twitter (@SFUVolkert) and check www.SFUathletics.com. The Red Flash are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SFUAthletics.