After a Midwestern Inter-collegiate Volleyball Association championship and NCAA tournament berth last spring and an undefeated fall season, the men's volleyball team is aiming to build on the success of 2002 this year.
Ball State's 2003 season begins this weekend when it hosts George Mason on Saturday and Concordia on Sunday.
Head coach Joel Walton said his team, which ranked No. 7 in the final USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, expects to achieve at least the same level of success as last year, if not surpass it.
"We feel pressure to have a year like we had last year, " Walton said. "It's a different kind of pressure. We want to get back to staying on top of our league."
Four players from last year's squad graduated. One of them, Paul Fasshauer, was an AVCA First Team All-American and also led the nation and set a Ball State record with a .536 hitting percentage. The three others lost were also big contributors, Walton said.
Despite the losses, he said the team should remain at the same level because it has experienced players to fill the vacant positions.
"Our team last year was so deep that we only have one starting spot filled with someone who hasn't started before," he said. "We miss those that graduated, but we fill those holes very well with very capable players."
The Cardinals showed that they filled the empty positions well by marching through their fall season undefeated. Their perfect record gave Walton high expectations for the team's spring campaign.
"The question was, 'will this team be as good as last year's?'" he said. "I think the fall was a good sign. We're not overconfident, but we know we have a lot to achieve and it's going to take a lot of work to accomplish it."
The team opens up its season against George Mason, who beat the Cardinals last year. Before their game with the Patriots, the Cards were 14-1, but the loss sent them on a six-game losing skid. Because of that, Walton said there is a revenge factor to the match.
"I'd like to see the guys come out and be real focused," Walton said. "I'd like to see them come out and show the league and the nation that Ball State has a great team."
On Sunday the Cardinals play Concordia, who, Walton said, has experienced players and good coaching. Walton added that he expects two hard-fought matches this weekend.
Even though the team has filled the positions it needed to and put an emphasis on setting over the off-season, Walton said this season will be a tough one because of the success the Cardinals have enjoyed of late.
"Now we're the team with the target on our heads," he said. "We're the ones everyone is gunning for."
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