It didn’t take opposite Ryan Louis long to have a big offensive performance.
Louis finished with a match-high 12 kills and errors on a .667 attack percentage as No. 16 Ball State swept Trine 25-14, 25-13, 25-20 in its season opener on Saturday in Muncie, Indiana.
The sophomore added six kills in the second game, including two kills as part of an 11-2 run to close out the game. Louis also had a team-high five kills in the final game to complete the non-conference sweep.
Setter Lucas Machado guided the Ball State offense to out-hit the in-state Division III school .507 and .103. The Cardinals in the third game did not commit an error and ended the match with seven errors – nine fewer errors than the Thunder.
Along with the offensive performance, Louis led all players with a career-high five blocks.
Louis was one of three Cardinals to have more than five kills. Middle attacker Will Patterson contributed seven kills and zero errors on a match-best .700 attack percentage, while outside attacker Wil Basilio had eight kills and hit .385.
Trine in the loss was limited to less than a .050 attack percentage in each of the first two games but then hit .304 in the final game.
Pin-hitter John Mikrut led Trine with 12 kills on a .346 attack percentage. Mikrut, though, was the only Trine to have more than five kills.
This was the first career win for Mike Iandolo as the Ball State head coach. Iandolo served as assistant coach with the team the last four years and was elevated to head coach in the offseason following the departure of former head coach Donan Cruz.