As the men's volleyball team prepares to play conference foe Quincy this weekend, it is still struggling to rebound from the loss of its senior middle attacker Matt Denmark. Denmark is still recovering from injuries he received from a car crash Saturday.
"We're still trying to overcome the shock (of Denmark's accident)," head coach Joel Walton said. "We've had two pretty average practices this week."
Walton said that Denmark's soreness and bruises are getting better every day, but he still doesn't know when the senior will rejoin the team. He said the decision is up to Denmark.
Denmark's mother, who, along with his dad, was in the car during the accident, remains in the hospital with a broken collarbone, a ruptured eardrum and severely bruised ribs. Walton said she will be in the hospital for a few more days.
For now, Walton is trying to decide who will fill Denmark's role in the middle. He is also trying to fill the second middle attacker spot that was rotated among three players before. Without Denmark to fill the first position, that leaves three guys to fill two spots, Walton said.
"We're trying to figure out who's going to step into (Denmark)'s role," Walton said. "We want the lineup that's going to allow us to function at the best level possible."
Junior Amitai Sasson, sophomore Andrew Braley and freshman Zoran Grabovac have all started at middle attacker at various times this season. Two of these three will fill the empty slots, Walton said.
Another player the Cardinals might have to be without in Saturday's home Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association match is senior outside attacker Josh Lee. Lee suffered a first-degree ankle sprain in Friday's match against Clarke.
Walton said Lee started practicing with the team on a limited basis Tuesday. Because of a night class, Lee couldn't practice with the team Wednesday, but will be with the team on Thursday and Friday and might be ready to play this weekend, Walton said.
Lee did not start for the team, but was the first back-up at the outside attacker position. Walton said junior Kenny Cook will take over Lee's spot, with freshman Evan Berg being used at outside attacker as well.
Because of the loss to Lewis on Saturday, the Cardinals fell from No. 6 to No. 10 in the USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. Walton said losing in three straight sets hurt them the most.
He said he was a little bothered by the slip in the rankings, because most of the poll's voters didn't know about Denmark's accident two hours before the match, which was a major distraction to the team.
Walton said that he hopes his team has moved forward enough this week so that the accident and loss of Denmark won't affect its play. He said an additional day of practice, since the Cardinals don't have a game on Friday, and no traveling in the past two weeks will help with their recovery.
"We still have a lot of goals and things to accomplish this season," Walton said. "We can't afford to give away anymore conference matches. We have to earn (our) respect back.
"We need to right the ship and start sailing straight."
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