As Matt Denmark's volleyball career at Ball State comes to a close, there is one thing on his mind.
"I would like to win a national championship," Denmark said.
Denmark's statistics have piled up in his four years as a starter. He ranks 15th all-time at Ball State in kills, second in block assists and third in total blocks. An NCAA championship, however, is one accomplishment that has eluded him.
"Before I leave Ball State, that's something I really want to do (win an NCAA crown)," Denmark said. "I'd be lying if I said I wanted to do anything but that. We only have one shot left to do it, but we can."
Denmark has been dedicated to this goal all season. He has been so dedicated that he gave up his second sport, and also his second love, high jumping for the track team.
Although he came to Ball State to play volleyball, the 6-foot-8-inch Denmark started jumping for the track team his sophomore year. The volleyball team lost early in its conference tournament that year, so Denmark, who high-jumped in high school, had a few weeks left of school and wanted something else to do.
"I'd always been interested to see what I could do in track (at the college level)," Denmark said. "I wanted to know if I could still jump and jump high. I ended up doing well, so I decided to stay."
Because volleyball and track are in the same season, Denmark said he was never able to compete in more than four track meets a year. He performed well in the ones he did jump in, however.
Last season, Denmark cleared a height of 7-1 at the Ball State Invitational, qualifying him for the NCAA Championships. Six days before the championships, however, he sprained his ankle in a volleyball match and was unable to compete.
That season resulted in further disappointment when Denmark had to miss some vital volleyball games. The team made it to the NCAA Final Four that year. While Denmark was able to play in the match, he was still recovering from the injury and the time off.
"I was so close to going (to the championships) for volleyball and I had it for track, and I got injured," Denmark said. "So, if a couple of things had turned out differently, I would have been able to compete in two national championships in two different sports last year, which would have been amazing."
That disappointment fueled Denmark's fire to get back to the Final Four this year. But in order to fully concentrate on volleyball, he had to drop track.
"Because it's my senior season, I really wanted to focus on volleyball," Denmark said. "I didn't want any injuries. As a result, I decided I was gonna take some time away from track."
Injuries were a key factor in Denmark's decision. He said at the beginning of the year, just a week and a half into the season, he was beginning to feel pain in his knees. He attributed the pain to two practices a day and trying to compete in volleyball matches and track meets in the same day.
Denmark is also not fully recovered from a car accident he and his parents were involved in Feb. 1, just hours
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