Ball State has a team full of new faces this year, but that doesn't mean they're playing much differently than they did last season.
In similar fashion to 2011 when several players were rotated in and out of the starting lineup throughout the year in search of consistency, coach Joel Walton has already decided to start two new players in Ball State's next match that stand apart from his opening day lineup last Friday.
Both freshman outside attacker Shane Witmer and junior right-side attacker Jamion Hartley are expected to start tonight as Ball State plays in its home opener against Sacred Heart at 7:30.
Witmer's immediate ascension up the depth chart may be surprising, but Walton said he earned the right to start after the way he played in Ball State's 3-2 win over George Mason on Saturday.
"We've seen Shane in practice pass very well, and we've seen Shane play really good backrow defense," Walton said. "So we put him hoping we would see those thing in the match and we did. Shane did a nice job."
Even though Witmer played in four of the five games in Saturday's match, he managed to finished second on the team in digs with 10, behind sophomore libero Tommy Rouse who led the Cardinals with 15 digs.
Witmer will replace senior outside attacker Jeff Aucoin, who produced five kills on 22 attempts combined in Ball State's first two matches. Walton admitted Aucoin might still be dealing with injury suffered during the preseason.
"He's still not quite 100 percent back from rolling his ankle in the fall, and I think that's impacted him a little bit," Walton said.
Ball State's hope is that Witmer and Hartley, who replaced junior outside attacker Greg Herceg in the starting lineup last Saturday, will help create more cohesion on defense and ignite the team's offense.
"After George Mason, we talked as a team in the huddle about our right-side defense needing to pick up and our blocking and things like that," junior outside attacker Larry Wrather said. "We all know what our weaknesses are, and [Walton] said we're going to make those weaknesses our strengths now."
Two players Walton said are not contributing to Ball State's issues in its first two matches are sophomore middle attackers Matt Leske and Kevin Owens.
"Both nights, Matt Leske and Kevin Owens' offense really led our team to the point that both teams, St. Francis and George Mason, we're scheming to try to take away the middle part of our offense," Walton said. "We need to find some other options around our middles that are going to free them up and make it harder for teams to set up their defense on our team."
Coincidentally, middle attacker was the team's position of strength in 2011 with two different players from Leske and Owens. Ball State now faces a similar problem to last year of finding the right players at outside attacker to complement the rest of the lineup.
Owens said while the team still isn't where they want to be in several areas, he's more excited now about stepping onto the Worthen Arena floor in today's home opener for the first time as a starter.
"Before last weekend, I hadn't started in two years," he said. "I'm really excited to play for this great historic program and this great city of volleyball. I can't wait."
For more Ball State men's volleyball coverage, follow @andrewmishler on Twitter.
Ball State vs. Sacred Heart
Where: Worthen Arena
When: 7:30 p.m.
Media: Radio coverage by 91.3 WCRD.
Projected starting lineup
Middle attacker: Matt Leske, Kevin Owens
Right-side attacker: Jamion Hartley
Outside attackers: Larry Wrather, Shane Witmer
Setter: Graham McIlvaine
Libero: Tommy Rouse
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