Joel Walton isn't focused on just expanding his own volleyball program; he wants the entire collegiate sport of men's volleyball to grow.
That's why the Ball State coach is so animated about playing Conference Carolina teams Limestone and Pfeiffer this weekend. Both schools are competing in only their third season of men's volleyball after the Division II conference added it as a sport in 2009.
Walton said he and his coaching staff are already seeing extensive improvement from several teams in the league. That includes Ball State's opponent on Friday.
"Coach [Kevin] Furnish is already taking a look at the results from both of those teams, and Limestone is already beating people down in Conference Carolinas that they weren't last year," Walton said. "They're improved from where they were last season."
By playing Limestone and Pfeiffer this weekend as well as Conference Carolinas team Mount Olive on Feb. 24, Walton said he hopes men's volleyball continues to expand across the nation.
It won't hurt that all three teams are expected to be improved from a season ago.
"We've seen it in our conference," Walton said. "When we've added teams to the MIVA, usually the first year is pretty abysmal. Second year, they're starting to make some strides. By that third year, especially since now those kids have generally been together for three consecutive seasons, they're starting to understand it. It's only just a matter of time before teams are going to compete with you."
Playing in a smaller and unfamiliar gym should work against Ball State's favor this weekend.
"I've been in a lot of Division II gyms, and there are some that are going to be more similar to a Loyola environment, where we've got a low ceiling, where we've got some bad lighting," Walton said. "Just environmentally, as well as being on the road, we could see some pretty stiff challenges this weekend."
Ball State will play Limestone today at 7:30 p.m. and move on to play Pfeiffer tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.
For more men's volleyball coverage, follow @andrewmishler on Twitter.
Projected Starting lineups
Middle attacker: Matt Leske, Kevin Owens
Outside attacker: Larry Wrather, Shane Witmer
Right-side attacker: Jamion Hartley
Setter: Graham McIlvaine
Libero: Tommy Rouse
Prediction: Ball State beats Limestone 3-1, Pfeiffer 3-0
Limestone has started the season well to earn a 3-1 record. Their best win so far came against preseason favorite Mount Olive two weeks ago with a sweep, but they also lost to Lindenwood last week, 3-1. They could string together a few rallies against Ball State and win a set, but that should be all. Pfeiffer is playing in its season opener and could be rusty. Ball State has been fairly inconsistent to start the season, but in both these matches, they should still easily take home two wins.
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