MUNCIE, Ind. – Playing its fourth consecutive match on the road against a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) opponent, the Lincoln Memorial University men's volleyball team ran into a hot-hitting Ball State University squad Thursday night in Muncie, Indiana. The Railsplitters (1-4) were unable to match the intensity and power of the host Cardinals (2-1) and dropped a straight-set decision inside Worthen Arena.
 
Unable to reach 20 points in any set, LMU was overwhelmed by an .429 attack and 46 kills from Ball State, who is receiving votes in the national coaches poll. Held to .188 hitting, the Railsplitters had a tough night offensively with 14 attack errors and only 29 kills. On the contrary, the Cardinals made just 10 errors on 84 total attacks and got a pair of service aces to go along with six total team blocks.
 
Committing just one error and laying down 18 kills behind an overbearing .654 attack percentage in the opening set, Ball State quickly jumped out to a 9-4 lead following five-straight points. The Cardinals would go on to increase their advantage to 10 at 21-11 on an ace and LMU had no answer as Ball State took the first set, 25-13.
 
A much closer second set ensued with the Railsplitters settling into the match. A kill by junior setter AJ Risavy knotted things up at 6-6 and LMU kept within striking distance with a kill from freshman right side hitter Justin Sharfenaker making it a one-point set at 13-12. Winning five of the next six points, the Cardinals opened up an 18-13 lead. The Railsplitters got back-to-back points on a kill by junior outside hitter Logan Kerley and a Ball State ball handling error at 23-15 but the home team closed out the set at 25-17 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
LMU had its best output of the night in the third set, tallying 13 kills on a .200 attack. However, the Cardinals collected 14 kills in each of the last two sets and swung at a clip of .320 in each stanza.
 
After Ball State won the first five points of the third set and took a 6-1 lead, the Railsplitters put together a 5-2 run to get within two at 7-5. Once again, the Cardinals pushed ahead 12-6 before a trio of kills from Sharfenaker and sophomore middle/outside hitter Dawson Walker, in addition to a Ball State attack error, kept LMU within three. From there the Cardinals built a commanding 19-12 advantage, but the Railsplitters slowly worked their way back to get within four at 23-19 on a pair of Sharfenaker kills and another Ball State attack error. Back-to-back Carinal kills ended up sealing the set and match at 25-19.
 
Sharfenaker led the way with a match-high 12 kills, while sophomore setter Ryan Foy claimed a team-high 12 assists and senior middle hitter Pedro Carvalho earned seven digs and three blocks.
 
Ball State's Bryce Behrendt posted 11 kills and the Cardinals got eight kills each from Blake Reardon and Nick Martinski. Quinn Isaacson recorded 23 assists and eight digs for Ball State as Behrendt and Felix Egharevba both notched three blocks.
 
Up Next…
Round two of LMU versus the Cardinals in the Hoosier State is scheduled for Friday at 5 p.m. The match will be streamed live on ESPN3. The Railsplitters return home and wrap up their three-match week Saturday afternoon inside Mary E. Mars Gymnasium by hosting Lindenwood University at 4 p.m.
 
How to Follow
Stay tuned to LMURailsplitters.com, as well as LMU's social media platforms - @LMURailsplitter on Twitter, @LMURailsplitters on Facebook and @lmurailsplitters on Instagram, for complete coverage of Railsplitter volleyball throughout the 2021 season.