Outside attacker Patrick Rogers eliminated any notions of an upset in a rivalry match.
Rogers finished with both a team-high 11 kills on a .400 attack percentage and three aces as No. 9/7 Ball State swept No. 19 Purdue Fort Wayne 25-21, 25-17, 25-23 on Saturday in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Rogers did not commit an attack error until the final game of the in-state MIVA match that was played in front of a crowd of 649 people. The outside attacker also led all players with six kills in the second game, including a kill as part of a 5-2 run to close out the game.
Along with the offensive performance, Rogers added three blocks against the Mastodons.
All six of Ball State’s starters had at least three blocks in victory and the team finished with 13.5 blocks – 9.5 more blocks than Purdue Fort Wayne.
Middle attacker Will Patterson returning to the court for the first time in almost a month led all players with seven blocks. In addition, opposite Ryan Louis had four blocks.
Ball State limited Purdue Fort Wayne to a zero attack percentage through the first game and for the match out-hit the Mastodons .348 to .185.
Opposite Logan Muir in the loss had a match-high 14 kills, while opposite Owen Banner contributed six kills. Both Muir and Banner, though, were limited to less than a .200 attack percentage.
Ball State with this victory maintains its half-match lead ahead of No. 11/9 Lindenwood for first place in the MIVA.