Ball State University Athletics
2006 Season Preview
January 09, 2006 | Men's Volleyball
"The last time we were in a cycle where we had as many returning players as we do this year was in 2001 and 2002," Walton says. "Having so many players coming back gives us some extra time with the team to know what areas we needed to improve on so we can polish up our play."
Looking at last season, in which the Cardinals went 17-15 overall and tied for third in the MIVA with a 10-6 record, Walton looks to improve the team's attack percentage and blocking.
"For this year's team, there are two main areas we have to improve - - hitting and blocking.
"Offensively, we worked really hard to improve our hitting percentage during the fall schedule. Our goal is to hit above .300 in every match. In the fall we were able to accomplish that and more in a lot of matches.
"Our blocking numbers were also low last season. As an adjustment, we moved Patrick Durbin to the left side during the fall and combined with the efforts of Nick Meyer, Evan Berg and Dave Carlson, we saw our blocking numbers improve."
Experience will be key for the Cardinals in 2006 with a roster which has three fifth-year seniors, three juniors and two redshirt sophomores. BSU's roster also includes one true sophomore, three redshirt freshmen and five true freshmen.
Ball State's senior class consists of 2005 All-MIVA First Team selection Evan Berg (6-3, Outside Attacker/Libero), Dave Carlson (6-3, Setter) and 2004 All-MIVA Second Team selection Zoran Grabovac (6-8, Middle Attacker).
Berg earned all-conference honors after finishing the season ranked second in the MIVA in digs per game (2.41). He also added 2.42 kills per game and 2.61 assists per game. In addition to smashing a career-best 19 kills at Findlay, Berg dished out a BSU season-high 71 assists as an emergency setter at Rutgers-Newark. Berg was the only player to compete in all 115 games for BSU last season, while being one of two to play in all 32 matches.
"As well as being an offensive threat, Evan is one of the two main ball control players on the team. Being a fifth-year senior, Evan's knowledge and experience will be a great asset for the team."
Carlson returns as the team's main setter after posting the 11th-best single season assists total in school history (1,141) last season. Despite missing several matches due to injury, the transfer who originally attended both Minnesota and Long Beach State, managed to post the fourth-best assists-per-game average in school history at 12.14.
"We worked a lot with Dave this fall to improve the consistency of his sets to our middles. We saw a lot of improvement in our hitting in the preseason, some of which can be attributed to Dave's dedication to improve."
Grabovac enters his final season as one of the most prolific blockers in school history. In three seasons, he has collected 245 career blocks to rank 18th on the school's charts. Last season, he recorded four-or-more blocks in 13 matches, while adding double-figure kill totals in nine contests.
"Zoran is two years removed from his knee surgery and, at times during the fall, he was able to play very aggressively. When he is playing at peak potential, Zoran is hard to stop."
Included in BSU's junior class are 2005 All-MIVA Second Team selection Nick Meyer (6-8, Outside Attacker), Patrick Durbin (6-6, Outside Attacker) and Mark Rumschik (6-4, Outside Attacker/Libero).
Meyer enters his junior year ranked ninth in school history in matches with 20-or-more kills at nine. Last season, he paced the team and ranked fifth in the league with a 4.18 kills-per-game average. Meyer collected a career-high 28 kills vs. IPFW, one of seven matches on the year where he tallied 20-or-more kills. He finished the year with double-figure kill totals in 20 of the 27 matches he played.
"We want to see Nick lead the team in kills per game for the second-straight season. Last season, our team played its best when Nick was on the court and healthy."
Durbin played in 23 matches for the Cardinals in 2005, collecting a 1.67 kills-per-game average and a 1.32 digs-per-game average. This season, the Cardinals will look for Durbin to solidify the team's blocking game.
"Patrick had a really nice fall. As a blocker, he gives us someone who understands the shots players want to hit and is physical enough to take away those shots."
Rumschik was the other BSU player to see action in all 32 matches a year ago. During the year, he scored career highs for kills (11), attempts (26), attack percentage (.545), digs (12) and total blocks (3).
"Mark will continue to be our jack-of-all-trades. He has the ability to do pretty much anything we need, which is a huge benefit."
The Cardinals three-man sophomore class consists of Ian Peckler (6-3, Libero), Doug Willmann (6-8, Middle Attacker) and Ted Summers-Torres (5-10, Setter).
Peckler returns for his sophomore season after ranking first in MIVA-matches only in digs-per-game average (2.86). His 2.33 digs-per-game average on the year was the third-best in the conference and ranks 15th in school annals, while his 238 total digs are the 18th-best single-season total in BSU history. Peckler also recorded double-figure digs in 11 matches last season.
"Ian was overlooked last year after being one of the league's best liberos. He understands where he needs to be on the court at all times, which benefits us in our ability to control the ball."
Willmann saw limited action last season, playing in just two matches. Summers-Torres played in the preseason a year ago, but not during the regular season.
"Willmann is our third middle and has been doing a very good job improving offensively. Summers-Torres will be a serving and defensive specialist for us."
BSU's redshirt freshman class consists of Matt McCarthy (6-8, Middle Attacker), Ryan Clarke (6-5 Outside Attacker) and Mark Termion (6-5, Outside Attacker).
During the off season, McCarthy was a middle blocker for the USA Men's Junior National Team which competed in India during the summer.
"Matt is going to surprise a lot of people. He might be the best blocker on the team and we are expecting a lot of great things from him as the season goes along.
"When Ryan is healthy, he is our most physical player on the court and has the ability to take over a match. Termion will be a key player for us coming off the bench. We have been working with Mark on hitting the ball more consistently with pace."
Rounding out the Cardinals' roster are true freshmen Todd Chamberlain (6-3, Outside Attacker), Ben Irwin (6-8, Middle Attacker), Carlos Ramos (5-10, Setter/Libero), Kyle Royse (6-0, Outside Attacker) and Jim Shiel (6-5, Outside Attacker).
"Todd is one of our most terminal attackers. He gives us a really nice option on the left side or the right side. Jim is our backup setter. We are trying to get him as much experience as we can for the future."
The Cardinals open the 2006 season Jan. 10 when it plays host to Rutgers-Newark. Ball State begins MIVA action Feb. 3 when it travels to Lewis. BSU's first home MIVA match will take place Feb. 10 when Loyola visits Worthen Arena. BSU concludes the regular season April 15 when it hosts Penn State.
The 2006 MIVA schedule for the Scholarship Division - - Ball State (1961), IPFW (1981), Lewis (1994), Loyola (1996), Mercyhurst (1997), Ohio State (1961) and Quincy (1994). - - includes 12 league matches in which all schools play each other twice, once at home and once on the road.
The winner of the regular season title earns the No. 1 seed in the 2006 MIVA Tournament which begins April 22. Regular-season records determine the remainder of the seeds (2 to 7).
The winner of the Non-Scholarship Division - - Central State (2006), Carthage (2005), Clarke (1998) and the Milwaukee School of Engineering (2005) - - also earns a bid into the MIVA Tournament to round out the eight-team field. The winner of the tournament wins the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament which begins May 4 at Penn State.
In order for Ball State to get back to the NCAA Tournament for a league-record 16th time, the Cardinals must improve their attacking and blocking. By improving in those areas and relying on the returning players experience to pay dividends, Walton looks for this year's team to emerge as the top team in the MIVA and a national contender.
With a situation similar to the 2002 season, in which the NCAA Tournament was also at Penn State, Walton's 2006 team is poised and ready to achieve those accomplishments and become a mirror image of its 2002 predecessor.
