In the days leading up to Ball State’s match against McKendree, head coach Joel Walton said that McKendree “wouldn’t be the toughest team we face this season.”
Nobody would have expected them to be—not a program that was just formed and was playing its first volleyball match in history.
Ball State swept McKendree (25-13), (25-15), (25-13) in a match where some of Ball State’s backups saw more time than the starters.
Connor Gross and Alex Pia played throughout the third set, showing flashes of both talent and youth, much like their opponents across the net did.
“Alex played well, he had some good swings, hit an overpass pretty well,” Walton said, grinning. “And when Connor gets chances, he makes the most of his opportunities, and his teammates enjoy playing with him.”
McKendree showed its inexperience throughout the match, often struggling on both serving and receiving. Ball State racked up eight aces, three of them from Marcin Niemczewski.
Ball State’s quick attacks often caught its opponent off guard, making it tougher on McKendree who was already having communication issues.
It didn’t surprise Ball State’s Larry Wrather, who remembers some of the first action he saw in a Ball State uniform.
He entered a game against UCLA as a freshman and then got the start against Pepperdine the next day. He has been starting ever since.
“To be able to come in as a freshman and have upperclassmen teach me and lead the way, it was awesome,” Wrather said. “It’s an honor actually.”
McKendree knows about freshmen, as every player on the team is listed on the roster as a freshman.
Setter Jackson MacLean for McKendree struggled to place his sets, outside attackers had trouble getting precise contact with the ball. The team in general would have a strong point followed by several points where they looked overpowered.
The Bearcats struggles didn’t come as a surprise to Mike Scannell, a Cardinal playing in one of his first matches.
“It’s expected for them to struggle but they’re a really young team,” Scannell said. “They’ve got a lot of potential and it’ll come through in the next few years.
Scannell finished with seven kills, tying for second most kills for the match. Neimcezwski led with 10.
While every player on McKendree was making their first start, Hiago Garchet was making his first regular season appearance for Ball State.
The transfer setter from Brazil played the entire second set, one that Walton said had ups and downs.
“Hiago set some really interesting balls,” he said, laughing. “He’s got some flair and he’s exciting, likes to take chances put the other team in situations that they aren’t expecting.”
He played just one set and finished with 10 assists, two less than senior Graham McIlvaine. Gross contributed six assists in the final set, on a night where freshmen overshadowed seniors.
In all, 19 freshmen played for the two teams, abundant with early season experience.
“We didn’t play a perfect match, we made quite a few mistakes,” Walton said. “But McKendree … that youth will grow and they’ll have a good team in a few years.”
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