Patience pays off for Polish player

When Polish native Marcin Niemczewski arrived at Ball State as a freshman in 2012, he found himself buried on the men's volleyball team's depth chart behind senior outside attackers Jamion Hartley and Greg Herceg. 

Niemczewski learned the meaning of hard work and leadership from the duo, who combined for 532 of the Cardinals' 1,222 kills that season.

"[Marcin] was watching these two guys play his position who were everything that we would want a college men's volleyball player to be," head coach Joel Walton said. "They were great leader's, great mentors and hard workers."

Niemczewski played in five sets his freshman season, finishing with eight kills, four digs and one block. His playing time was limited when he needed surgery for a hip injury.

His sophomore year, he made his presence known on a national level, winning the Sports Imports/AVCA Division l-ll Men's National Player of the week after registering 22 kills, 16 digs and eight blocks against rival IPFW.

"My sophomore year, I was able to apply everything I learned and do as well as I did," Niemczewski said.

Transitioning into this season, Niemczewski dealt with a change in setters, after junior Hiago Garchet replaced the graduated Graham McIlvaine. 

"It's a little different than Graham setting," he said. "It's just kind of getting used to the new setter and building chemistry with him. All throughout preseason we've been working really hard and playing together. The more and more we play the better it gets."

Since playing alongside Garchet, Niemczewski's numbers have increased. He leads the team in with 76 kills and his .259 attack percentage is .067 points better than last year's final total of .192.

"The reason [Marcin] keeps himself on the court is because he does all the skills well." Walton said. "He digs so well; he serves well and he blocks his side of the net. The other thing he does well is that he doesn't stress. When he makes a mistake he doesn't panic or overreact."

Defensively, Niemczewski ranks second on the team with 41 digs, and his 90.5 total points are also a team-high and rank 18th best in the MIVA.

He registered nine kills, a .533 attack percentage, one ace, six digs and four blocks against Quincy Jan. 30; his 21st birthday.  

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