Ball State University Athletics
Men's Volleyball Opens 2010 Season Friday At Loyola
January 13, 2010 | Men's Volleyball
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CARDINALS OPEN SEASON FRIDAY: The Ball State men's volleyball team opens the 2010 season Friday, when it travels to Loyola-Chicago for a 7 p.m. (CT) first serve versus the Ramblers . . . The contest will also mark the start of the 2010 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) schedule for the Cardinals . . . BSU continues it's opening weekend with matches at Carthage Saturday (7 p.m. CT) and at the Milwaukee School of Engineering Sunday (3 p.m. CT).
BSU ENTERS THE YEAR IN TOP 15: The Ball State men's volleyball team enters Friday's match versus Loyola ranked 13th in the nation according the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division I-II Men's Coaches Top 15 Poll which was released this past Monday . . . The Cardinals entered the season ranked 11th in the AVCA preseason poll, but slipped two spots after then-No. 12 Hawai'i and then-No. 13 UC San Diego posted wins in the opening weekend, while Ball State was idle.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: The Ball State men's volleyball team returns nine letterwinners and five of six starters from the 2009 squad which finished the season tied for 13th in the nation after posting an 18-10 overall record . . . The Cardinals also advanced to the championship match of the MIVA Tournament for the second-straight season.
PRESEASON HONORS: Ball State men's volleyball senior setter Ethan Pheister, senior libero Billy Ebel and junior middle attacker J.D. Gasparovic have been named to the 2010 MIVA Preseason All-Conference Team as voted on by the league's seven head coaches . . . In addition to the individual honors, the Ball State men's volleyball team was picked to finish second in the league's preseason poll behind Ohio State . . . The Buckeyes earned 44 points and four first-place votes, while the Cardinals collected 43 points and three first place votes.
SERIES VERSUS LOYOLA: The Cardinals and Ramblers are currently tied with 17 wins apiece in the all-time series which dates back to a 3-1 (15-12, 9-15, 15-6, 15-11) Ball State road victory Feb. 16, 1996 . . . Last season, the clubs split a pair of regular season matches with each team winning in five at home . . . Ball State scored a 3-2 (29-31, 30-27, 30-25, 23-30, 15-7) win Feb. 28, while Loyola scored a 3-2 (24-30, 30-32, 30-27, 33-32, 15-10) victory March 14 . . . Ball State has lost its 11 trips to Loyola, with its last win in Chicago coming April 17, 1999.
BSU VERSUS CARTHAGE AND MSOE: The Cardinals are a combined 11-0 versus Carthage (6-0) and the Milwaukee School of Engineering (5-0) . . . Last season, Ball State sweep the season series with Carthage winning 3-0 (30-20, 30-21, 30-19) on the road (Feb. 21) and 3-0 (30-23, 30-23, 32-30) at home (March 17) . . . The Cardinals also scored a pair of wins over MSOE last season, winning 3-0 (30-13, 30-25, 30-23) at home (Feb. 12) and 3-0 (30-19, 30-26, 30-27) in its first-ever trip to Milwaukee one week later (Feb. 20).
1,015 AND COUNTING: After posting an 18-10 overall record last season, Ball State men's volleyball finished the 2009 season with an overall program record of 1,015-399-8 in 46 years . . . The men's volleyball team joined baseball and men's basketball as the only programs in school history to reach 1,000 wins . . . In addition, only one other NCAA Division I/II men's volleyball program has eclipsed 1,000 wins, with UCLA entering the week with a 1,186-255 all-time record, over 47+ years, after going 1-2 to open the 2010 season.
HITTING THE MARK: Junior J.D. Gasparovic, a 2009 Volleyball Magazine All-America Second Team selection, enters the season ranked fifth in program history with a .391 career hitting percentage . . . Last season, Gasparovic led the MIVA and ranked fifth nationally with a .465 attack percentage which was the second-best single-season mark in BSU history.
HE CAN BLOCK TOO: In addition to his solid attacking numbers, J.D. Gasparovic enters the season ranked seventh in program history with a 1.39 career blocks-per-game average . . . Last season, he ranked first in the league and fifth nationally with a 1.39 blocks-per-game average.
SETTING UP THE CHARTS: Setter Ethan Pheister enters his senior year ranked fifth in program history with 2,812 career assists and a 10.98 assists-per-game average . . . A two-time Second Team All-MIVA selection, Pheister's 1,156 assists in 2009 were the 20th-best single-season total in BSU annals.
DIGGING IT UP: Last season, Ball State libero Billy Ebel became just the 15th player in program history to record 20-or-more digs in a match, when he collected a career-high 22 in BSU's MIVA Tournament semifinal win over Lewis (April 30) . . . In addition, his 278 digs in 2009 ranked as the ninth-best single-season total in program history, while his 2.81 digs-per-game average ranked fifth in BSU single-season annals.
SERVING IT UP: Ball State finished the 2009 season with two players ranked in the top four in the league's serving standings . . . During the regular season Ethan Pheister ranked second among all MIVA players with a 0.45 aces-per-set average, while Dominic Spadavecchio ranked fourth at 0.38 . . . Pheister's 68 career service aces tie for 18th on BSU's career charts, while his 0.27 aces-per-game average ties for sixth . . . For Spadavecchio, his eight service aces in the first game versus Quincy (3/28/09) tie as the third-best match total in program history, and were a school-record for aces in a game
BALL STATE ON THE RADIO: WCRD 91.3 FM will once again be the radio home for the Cardinals during the 2010 season . . . The station is slated to cover all 13 home matches this season, as well as select road contests . . . James Rider will cover the play-by-play action, while Nick Golden provides the color commentary . . . The station also serves as the home for "The Ball State Men's Volleyball Show", a weekly BSU men's volleyball report which airs Mondays from 7-8 p.m. . . . All WCRD broadcasts will be streamed live and FREE of charge at www.ballstatesports.com.
