Hey all, First, I want to apologize for not getting this post out earlier. Between fall midterms, family matters and taking a trip up to Detroit to visit my girlfriend's family, it's been a hectic week. So, naturally, I've had to take a break from volleyball for a while. That ends now, starting with this post.
The Ball State men's volleyball team released it's schedule last Tuesday with some surprising results. I sat down with coach Joel Walton on Wednesday to talk about it, and here are the main thoughts he told me he had on the schedule.
-It's disappointing for Walton to not have Penn State on the schedule after playing them three times last season. PSU wanted to focus more on its conference schedule this season as well as playing the two Chicago MIVA teams more, so Ball State was left out in the cold when it came to their schedule. This is the first time since 1982 that Penn State and Ball State will not play each other.
-Keeping with the non-conference them, Walton explained that it's good and bad to have a light schedule this year outside of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. Ball State will not play a non-conference team that finished last season ranked in the Top-15. Even though the Cardinals will have a lighter schedule, they aren't at the level yet to be overly concerned with facing top competition since they're main goals don't relate to the NCAA Tournament. So basically, non-conference play will matter more once Ball State improves and competes for the MIVA title. But Walton admitted that he still wishes he could have had one or two better teams on the non-conference schedule this season.
-Tuesday was also the team's first day of practice, and Walton is pleased with the incoming players on the team, which include: OA Jeff Aucoin, OA/L David Ryan Vandermeer, OA Shane Witmer and MA Julian Welsh-White. Aucoin is a fifth-year senior transfer from New Hampshire, and it sounds like Walton plans to make full use of him in his one season with the team. He should figure to have the biggest impact out of that group, as he'll compete with Larry Wrather, Greg Herceg and Julian Hartley for playing time. Walton mentioned how he likes Aucoin's great athleticism. Vandermeer and Witmer's prospects aren't well defined this early in the fall preseason, but it does sound like Welsh-White will have a year to learn on the bench. One word describes everything Walton told me about Welsh-White: Raw. The coaching staff is working hard with him, but he's got a long ways to go.
-Surprisingly, Walton's main concern this season isn't replacing the recently departed middle attacker duo of Anders Nelson and J.D. Gasparovic; it's improving on offense to obtain a .300 attack percentage. Walton stressed the importance on reaching that goal multiple times. It hasn't been done by Ball State since 2004, but he's set on ending that. At middle attacker, Walton isn't losing sleep over having Kevin Owens, Matt Leske and Derek Menendez as his three main players at the position. He's been quoted once saying Owens has a chance to be one of the best middle attackers in Ball State history.
With only a few practices down, Walton is obviously still figuring this team out. I think it's going to be a rebuilding year at this point with so many new players and a competitive conference in the MIVA. But this team always manages to throw a lot of surprises my way when I never expect it.
You can reach me at asmishler@bsu.edu and sports@bsudailynews.com by email, or mention me on Twitter at @andrewmishler if you have any questions about Ball State volleyball.
Thanks for reading!
-Andrew Mishler
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