The men's volleyball team cannot afford to overlook tonight's opponent, Carthage College, despite that this will be the school's first-ever varsity match.
This is Carthage's first year in the NCAA as a Division III team, but BSU head coach Joel Walton said the team would look to make an impression by beating Ball State (2-0) in Worthen Arena.
"We're playing against a very talented team," Walton said. "Their group is going to be very competitive."
Walton said he is familiar with several of Carthage's players from volleyball camps at Ball State. Although most of Carthage's players are freshmen or sophomores, five players stand 6-foot-6 or taller, which will add to the team's threat, he said. Also, the team, which was a club sport last year, won the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association Club Volleyball Championship last year.
After having a short time to practice between its first two matches, Walton said the team was able to get in good practice time this week. One thing it worked on was developing more consistency on offense.
"We're still trying to work out some kinks in our offense," he said.
Serving has been strong, though. Zoran Grabovac has six serving aces after two games, just three less than his 2004 season total.
"Our serving has put a lot of pressure on other teams," Walton said.
Ball State has also focused on a new defensive scheme. Although the strategy is meant for Tuesday's match against Lewis, in order to combat its tall left side attackers, Walton said the team will also use it against Carthage.
Though it is preparing for the first conference game against Lewis, Walton said the team does not see tonight's match as practice.
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