Ball State University Athletics
No. 14 MVB Travels To Outrigger Invitational
January 11, 2011 | Men's Volleyball
CARDINALS BATTLE THREE TOP 10 OPPONENTS: The Ball State men's volleyball team travels to Honolulu, Hawaii, this week for the 17th Annual Outrigger Invitational . . . At the three-day tournament, the Cardinals battle three top 10 opponents, starting with tournament host and fifth-ranked Hawai'i Thursday at 7 p.m. (Midnight EST) . . . Friday, BSU takes on No. 8 UCLA at 4 p.m. (9 p.m. EST), before closing the tournament Saturday with a 4 p.m. (9 p.m. EST) first serve versus No. 10 Penn State.
BSU IN THE OUTRIGGER: The 17th Annual Outrigger Invitational will mark the Cardinals fifth trip to the event . . . BSU last participated in the Outrigger in 2008, going 0-3 with losses to UCLA (1-3), Hawai'i (1-3) and Penn State (0-3) . . . Overall, the Cardinals are 2-9 in the tournament including a 1-1 record in 2003, an 0-3 mark in 1998 and a 1-2 record in 1996 . . . In addition, BSU has only faced the three teams in this season's event in its four previous trips, owning a 2-2 record versus Penn State, an 0-3 record against UCLA and an 0-4 mark versus host Hawai'i.
BALL STATE VS. TOURNAMENT FOES: Including its 2-9 record in the Outrigger Invitational, Ball State is a combined 29-89 versus the tournament field . . . The Cardinals are 2-10 all-time versus Hawai'i with its last win coming May 6, 1995 in the third-place match of the NCAA Tournament . . . BSU has lost its last eight matches versus the Warriors . . . Ball State is 3-22 all-time versus UCLA after a 3-0 setback in Los Angeles last season (March 10) . . . In 2008, the Cardinals scored a pair of wins over the Bruins in Worthen Arena . . . BSU is 24-57 all-time against Penn State, having lost its last 10 matches to the Nittany Lions . . . The Cardinals last win in the series was Jan. 14, 2006.
TWO OF THE BEST: The Ball State men's volleyball program has amassed a 1,035-410-8 overall record for a .715 winning percentage in 47+ seasons . . . Only one other NCAA Division I/II men's volleyball program has eclipsed 1,000 wins, with UCLA entering the weekend with a 1,203-268 all-time record over 48+ years after going 2-1 at last weekend's UCSB Invitational.
SCOUTING NO. 14 BALL STATE: The Cardinals enter the week with a 1-0 record after posting a 3-0 (25-23, 27-25, 25-22) victory over Lindenwood last Friday . . . In the match, sophomore outside attacker Larry Wrather and redshirt sophomore right side attacker Jamion Hartley tied for team-high honors with eight kills apiece . . . Redshirt freshman libero Tommy Rouse paced all players with 14 digs, while freshman Graham McIlvaine set the final two games, handing out 27 assists . . . Sophomore Dan Wichmann set the first game.
SCOUTING NO. 5 HAWAI'I: Thursday's match will be the season opener for the Warriors . . . Hawai'i returns seven letterwinners and four starters from its 2010 squad which finished the season ranked fourth in the nation with a 19-10 overall record.
SCOUTING NO. 8 UCLA: The Bruins enter the week with a 2-1 record after posting wins over UC-San Diego (3-1) and Long Beach State (3-2), while losing to UC-Santa Barbara (3-1) at the 47th Annual Gaucho Invitational . . . Overall, six different UCLA players have tallied 15-or-more kills this season led by Jeremy Casebeer's 29 . . . Alex Scattereggia has set the Bruins to a .293 rate of success, handing out 86 total assists . . . Tom Hastings has a team-best 21 digs.
SCOUTING NO. 10 PENN STATE: The Nittany Lions open the season Thursday versus UCLA in the Outrigger Invitational . . . Penn State returns 11 letterwinners and five starters from its 2010 squad which advanced to the NCAA Championship Match . . . PSU finished the year ranked fifth nationally with a 24-8 record.
MOVING UP IN THE POLLS: After its 3-0 win over Lindenwood last Friday, the Ball State men's volleyball team climbed one spot to 14th in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I-II Men's Coaches Top 15 Poll which was released Monday . . . Ohio State is the top-ranked MIVA program at No. 8, while Loyola is 13th and Lewis is 15th . . . Southern California remains No. 1 for the second straight week.
FRESHMAN FACTOR: Three freshman saw action in key spots for the Cardinals last Friday, as true freshman Graham McIlvaine and redshirt freshmen Tommy Rouse and Derek Menendez all reached the court . . . At setter, McIlvaine led the team to a .267 hitting percentage in the final two sets by handing out a career-high 27 assists . . . At libero, Rouse's 14 digs in three sets has him leading the MIVA with a 4.67 digs-per-set average . . . From the middle, Menendez blasted three kills and a .500 hitting percentage in his first collegiate set.
NICE START: Senior middle attacker Anders Nelson blasted seven kills on 11 swings with no errors in the season-opener for a .636 hitting percentage . . . The percentage currently leads the MIVA after the first week of play.
WHAT ABOUT WRATHER: In just two sets, sophomore outside attacker Larry Wrather blasted eight kills in last Friday's win over Lindenwood . . . His 4.00 kills-per-set average currently leads the MIVA . . . In addition, his three block assists give him a 1.50 blocks-per-set average which is second in the league.
PRESEASON HONORS: Senior middle attacker J.D. Gasparovic has been named to the 2011 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Preseason All-Conference Team as voted on by the league's seven head coaches . . . A two-time MIVA First Team All-Conference selection (2009 & 2010), Gasparovic ranked first in the league and fifth nationally with a single-season career-high 1.49 blocks-per-game average last season . . . In addition, his .405 attack percentage ranked third in the MIVA and 11th nationally.
MIVA PRESEASON PREDICTION: The Ball State men's volleyball team was picked to finish fourth in the league's preseason poll . . . Ohio State was selected to win the MIVA with 47 total points and six of seven first-place votes . . . Lewis was picked second with 39 points and one first-place vote, followed by Loyola in third (38), BSU in fourth (29) and IPFW in fifth (21), while Grand Canyon and Quincy tied for sixth with 11 points each.
ALL-ACCESS: Fans can follow the 2011 Ball State men's volleyball team at all home matches with live streaming video courtesy of Ball State All Access . . . All Access packages begin at $9.95 a month.
