Ball State University Athletics
Men?s Volleyball Places Three On All-MIVA List
April 23, 2009 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Three members of the Ball State men's volleyball team were honored Thursday as the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association announced its all-conference and specialty award selections, as voted on by the league's six head coaches.
Representing the Cardinals on the All-MIVA First Team were senior outside attacker Todd Chamberlain (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) and sophomore middle attacker J.D. Gasparovic (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville H.S.). Junior setter Ethan Pheister (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) earned recognition on the All-MIVA Second Team.
“Todd, J.D. and Ethan all had very strong seasons for our team,” said Ball State head coach Joel Walton. “Todd is one of the dominant blockers and attackers in the league. J.D. not only leads the conference in hitting and blocking, he also ranks among the nation's leaders in both categories. Ethan has set our offense to its highest efficiency since the 2006 season. I appreciate what these three players have done this season and I am looking forward to seeing what they do in the conference tournament.”
Chamberlain, a 2008 Second Team All-MIVA selection, enters Saturday's MIVA Tournament quarterfinal match versus Quincy as the Cardinals' top attacker with a 3.28 kills-per-game average. In BSU's 25 matches this season, Chamberlain has tallied double-figure kills 15 times, including 20-or-more markers in three contests. He started the season with 20 kills in three games versus then-No. 4 Stanford (Jan. 17), which earned him MIVA Player of the Week accolades, while adding 20 kills in four games at Grand Canyon (March 7). At Ohio State (March 11), the 6-3 senior smashed a career-high 22 kills.
With his team-high 17 kills in the senior day victory over St. Francis last Saturday, Chamberlain moved into a tie for 18th in program history with 892 career kills. Chamberlain, who also ranks 15th in BSU's record book with his 2.93 career kills-per-game average, is also looking to become just the 14th player in program history to record over 850 kills and 500 digs in a career. He enters Saturday's match with 476 career digs.
Gasparovic enters the weekend ranked first in the MIVA in both hitting percentage (.472) and blocks-per-game average (1.45). Despite missing both of last weekend's matches due to illness, Gasparovic still owns a league-best 120 total blocks over his 83 games played. Gasparovic earned 2008 MIVA Freshman of the Year accolades last season after also leading the league with a 1.45 blocks-per-game average.
Gasparovic, who has hit .500-or-better in 13 matches this season, has tallied double-digit kills 11 times in 2009, including a career-high 15 kills versus then-No. 11 Lewis (Jan. 30) which earned him MIVA Player of the Week honors. He has also posted four-or-more blocks in each of his last 13 complete matches and 17 times overall this season. With 250 career blocks to date, Gasparovic is on pace to become one of the top three blockers in program history, as only three other BSU players have finished their career with over 500 total blocks. His 1.45 career blocks-per-game average currently ties for fifth in team annals.
Pheister, who picks up Second Team All-MIVA honors for the second straight season, has set the BSU offense to a .282 rate of success this season by dishing out 11.66 assists per game. The 6-6 setter also enters Saturday's match with a league-best 0.49 aces-per-game average, which ranks sixth nationally. In addition, Pheister boasts averages of 1.19 digs and 1.00 blocks per game.
Pheister became just the seventh player in program history to reach 2,000 career assists in the Feb. 21 match versus Carthage, while his 2,694 career helpers rank him fifth in program history. In BSU's match at Loyola (March 14), he tied a career-high with 11 digs and added 61 assists for his first double-double of the season. Pheister also earned MIVA Player of the Week accolades Feb. 9 after guiding the BSU offense to a .414 hitting percentage the previous week, including a season-high .459 success rate in the series finale at Grand Canyon University (March 8).
Lewis' Drew Pickering was named the 2009 MIVA Player of the Year, while Loyola's Mike Bunting was selected as the MIVA Freshman of the Year. Ohio State head coach Pete Hanson earned MIVA Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season after guiding the Buckeyes to the MIVA regular season championship.
