Ball State University Athletics
J.D. Gasparovic Named MIVA Player of the Week
February 12, 2008 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - J.D. Gasparovic (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville H.S.), a freshman middle attacker for the Ball State men's volleyball team, has been named the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Player of the Week after helping guide the Cardinals to wins at No. 14 George Mason and Rutgers-Newark last week.
Gasparovic is the second BSU player to earn the MIVA's weekly award in the last three weeks. Sophomore setter Ethan Pheister (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) earned the honor Jan. 29.
"J.D. had a great weekend of play for our team," said BSU head coach Joel Walton. "His blocking and offense were critical parts of our team's success in both matches. He definitely helped us come from behind in a huge win at George Mason. I challenged our team following the loss at Stanford, and J.D. responded with highly focused and motivated play."
Gasparovic started the week with his first career double-double, which included career-highs of 14 kills and 13 total blocks (three solo and 10 assists), in Friday's thrilling 3-2 victory over No. 14 George Mason. The 13 blocks tie as the 16th-best single-match total in school history and are the most for a BSU player since 2002 AVCA All-America First Team selection Paul Fasshauer (1999-02) collected 13 blocks at Quincy on March 2, 2001.
Gasparovic, who also recorded just his second career service ace in the contest, paced all BSU players with a then career-high .632 (14-2-19) attack percentage versus the Patriots.
The following night at Rutgers-Newark, Gasparovic paced the Cardinals with 11 kills and a career-best .917 (11-0-12) attack percentage. Gasparovic started the match a perfect 10-for-10 on the attack, before getting his 11th attempt dug by the Scarlet Raiders' Jeff Zornig to open the third game.
Gasparovic finished the weekend hitting .742 (25-2-31), with team-highs of 25 kills and 15 blocks. Entering the week, Gasparovic only had 16 kills and 20 blocks on the year.
The Ball State men's volleyball team returns to action Friday, when it hosts league-leading and eighth-ranked Ohio State at 7:30 p.m. at Worthen Arena. Admission to the match is FREE!!!
