Playing in an elimination match tonight, the Ball State University men's volleyball team will be without one of its best players.
First team all-conference middle attacker J.D. Gasparovic will not play in Ball State's Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament semifinal match against No. 12 Lewis University at 5 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio, because he has Mononucleosis, coach Joel Walton said Wednesday night.
As a sophomore, Gasparovic finished the regular season leading the MIVA with a .472 attack percentage and 120 blocks. Starting every match before contracting mononucleosis, he also was fifth in the nation with 1.45 blocks per game.
Tonight's match will be the fourth match Gasparovic has missed in the last 12 days because of the illness.
"We are still working through it," Walton said. "He feels good, and it's more about getting his confidence on the court back."
If Ball State beats Lewis, it would play the winner of the other semifinal match between No. 10 Ohio State University and No. 13 Loyola University in the MIVA championship match on Saturday.
Walton said Gasparovic could possibly play in the championship match. The coach also said if the Cardinals win the MIVA, Gasparovic would play in the NCAA Final Four next week.
Ball State (17-9, 6-4 MIVA) entered the conference tournament as the No. 3 seed and defeated last-place Quincy University in the MIVA quarterfinals on Saturday. Lewis (21-7, 7-3 MIVA) finished the conference regular season in second place and earned a bye in the quarterfinals as the No. 2 seed.
The Cardinals and Flyers split their two-match regular season series.
In their first match, Gasparovic had a career-high 15 kills and a match-high eight blocks as Ball State swept Lewis in January. The middle attacker also had 11 kills and a match-high seven blocks in the Cardinals' five-game loss to the Flyers in March.
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