Ball State
volleyball team avoided
extinction to face UHThe Cardinals were on the
cutting board when a petition
helped save the program
Ball State Cardinals? Try Ball State Phoenix.
Men's college volleyball
Who: No. 10 Ball State (6-0) at No. 4 Hawaii (4-2)When: 7 p.m. tomorrow and Thursday
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
Radio: Live, KKEA (1420-AM).
TV: Live, KFVE (Ch. 5)
Series: Hawaii leads, 5-2
Considering how the BSU men's volleyball team has risen from the ashes of near-extinction, changing the nickname is a thought. A fitting one.
It's the scenario that coach Joel Walton optimistically predicted last summer when the program was one of five sports scheduled to be dropped by Ball State to help balance the athletic department's budget. When Walton reaffirmed his commitment to come to Hawaii this season to play the Warriors, "I hope it's as a risen phoenix, as opposed to a dead man walking."
Support from the college and volleyball communities, including an online petition signed by more than 2,300, helped. Against the objections by the school's senate committees on athletics and agenda, the school dropped men's cross country, and indoor and outdoor track ... but men's volleyball, with a $52,000 reduction in its budget, survived.
The Cardinals have repaid the reprieve with success. Ball State, making its first road trip of the season, arrived today with a 6-0 record, a No.-10 ranking, and one of the best setters in the country.
Senior setter Keith Schunzel was last week's AVCA National Player of the Week after leading Ball State to 30-26, 30-19, 30-26 upset of No. 9 Penn State.
"The upset opened people's eyes," Schunzel said after the award was announced. "People didn't think we would be this good this early in the season."
Hawaii coach Mike Wilton didn't expect anything less when he invited Walton to bring his team back to the islands for a third time. The Cardinals last played in the Stan Sheriff Center in the 2003 Outrigger Hotels Invitational.
"They are good," Wilton said. "Schunzel is a very clever setter and they've got some good size. This will be a good challenge for us. Another good team, as promised.
"We invited them right after last season ended, right when all the stuff was going down. I wanted to bring them back here. I like Joel and think he does a great job. It would have been a shame to lose that program, it's one of the original (men's collegiate volleyball) programs."
It's also been Ball State's most consistently successful program. The Cardinals have won 21 Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association champions, beginning with the inaugural title in 1964. They also have advanced to the NCAA final four 15 times, including 1995 when defeating Hawaii for third place, and when finishing tied for third in 2002 when the Warriors won the championship.
The Cardinals are coming off a sweep of Springfield College last weekend. They eked out a 30-22, 31-29, 27-30, 28-30, 15-12 win over the Pride Sunday behind a career-high 24 kills by senior Jary Delgado.
"It's tough to not look past Springfield," Schunzel told the campus paper. "We've been talking about Hawaii since we found out we were playing them."
Yesterday, the Warriors began concentrating on the Cardinals after taking the weekend off. Hawaii won both its matches against UC San Diego last week 3-0.
"I'm real happy with this team and I like their work ethic," Wilton said. "They love volleyball and they want to train hard.
"It dawned on me recently that out of the eight guys we're playing on a consistent basis, this is the first full-time collegiate duty for all but one of them. And Delano (Thomas, junior middle) is playing a different position. There's some definite learning curves gong on, but I'm convinced that this is what we need to be doing."
Notes: The Ball State roster includes Kalaheo High School graduate Andrew Braley, a 6-foot-7 junior middle. ... Saint Louis School product Brian Zodrow, a 6-3 junior hitter for Pacific, was named the AVCA National Player of the Week yesterday. He had 20 kills and five aces in UOP's 3-1 upset of No. 5 UC Santa Barbara and a career-high 24 kills in the loss to No. 6 Cal State Northridge.
UH Athletics
