Ball State University Athletics
Men's Volleyball Gears Up For Action Packed Season Opener
January 07, 2016 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The No. 14 Ball State men's volleyball team opens the 2016 season at home this weekend when it hosts No. 13 Stanford Friday and Alderson Broaddus Saturday in Worthen Arena at 7:30 p.m. The two-match weekend, which is host to the annual Don Shondell Active Ankle Challenge, will also have various Alumni Weekend activities planned to celebrate the history of the Ball State men's volleyball program with all alumni in attendance.
“It's a great opportunity, anytime we get an MPSF team to come play in Muncie,” head coach Joel Walton said about the team's season-opener versus Stanford. “Stanford comes in ranked 13th, while we enter the match ranked 14th, so it will be a nice opportunity to see where our team stands. Two years ago, Stanford played in the national championship match. It's a program that has won national championships, and when you think about West Coast volleyball, Stanford is usually one of the first to come to mind.”
Last season the Cardinals went 13-16 overall, and marked a 6-10 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association conference record. While the team suffered the loss of four seniors, four new Cardinals have joined the program in addition to the 13 returning players. Standouts include sophomore Matt Walsh, who finished his freshman season second in the nation in blocks per set (1.39), as well as junior Brendan Surane, who led the team in aces (30).
“We return both Brendan Surane and Matt Walsh whose play in the middle was a strength of our team last season,” Walton said. “This season, we have moved Surane to a left-side attacking spot, which is turning into another strength for us. He is one of the better attackers on our team, and being able to set him a larger part of our team's offense will be a critical part of how we compete this year. In addition, having the continuity of Hiago Garchet returning at setter is another advantage for us.”
Historically, the Ball State men's volleyball program has earned 14 MIVA Tournament Championships, 15 NCAA Tournament berths and 21 MIVA Regular Season Championships. As a program, the Cardinals boast a 1123-463-8 all-time record entering the 2016 season, while its nearly 300 all-time letter winners have garnered 46 All-America honors, 176 All-MIVA awards and has ranked the program in the AVCA Top 15 poll a total of 324 times.
“I hope the guys go into this year with an attitude of something to prove,” Walton said. “Last year was the first time in program history we have not had an all-conference player. Walsh finished the season ranked second in the country in blocking, while Surane was a great attacker for us and the team's top server. Unfortunately, we lost too many matches late in the season which is why the opinion of our team fell in the mind of the other coaches. I want our team to use that as motivation as we go into this year to prove they are a great team and capable of beating all opponents.”
Ball State also continues tough competitor action this season, both in conference and non-conference play, as the Cardinals will face eight teams ranked in the 2016 AVCA Division I-II Men's Volleyball Preseason Poll. Ball State will also face each of the top four teams from the final 2015 AVCA Division I-II Men's Volleyball Coaches Poll in No. 1 Loyola, No. 2 Lewis, No. 3 UC-Irvine and No. 4 Penn State, including three at home in Worthen Arena. The Cardinals will also face MIVA competitors Lewis and Loyola both at home and on the road over the course of the season.
“Last year was the first time our league had two teams playing for the national championship,” Walton said. “It shows that volleyball in the MIVA is as good as anywhere else in the country. Last year was a really tough year in our league, and our record indicated that. We were a good team, beating both Penn State and Ohio State, but it wasn't just two-time defending national champion Loyola and Lewis who were good. The whole league was strong, and you saw that when looking at the results our teams put up against non-conference opponents.”
SCOUTING No. 13 STANFORD: After losing five seniors, including three All-Americans, Stanford still has two returning All-Americans on its roster in 2016, including middle blocker Conrad Kaminski and setter James Shaw, while five freshmen, including two First Team High School All-Americans, join the program. The team finished the 2015 season with a record of 10-18 overall, paired with a 7-15 mark in conference play, which led to missing the postseason for the first time since 2007. Stanford is scheduled to play eight of its first 10 matches on the road, under 10-year head coach John Kosty.
SCOUTING ALDERSON BROADDUS: Located in Philippi, West Virginia, the Battlers are in their inaugural season as an NCAA men's volleyball program under head coach Michael Fink.
Live Stats will be available for fans unable to attend this weekend's matchups at:
http://www.ballstatesports.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=14200&LIST_SPORT__VOLLEYBALL
Looking ahead, the Ball State men's volleyball team will welcome Sacred Heart and Harvard to Worthen Arena on Jan. 14 and 15, respectively, prior to hitting the road for a six-match stretch.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State men's volleyball action, follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateMVB on Twitter and Instagram.
