After having the smallest roster in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association last season, the Ball State University men's volleyball team will be able to expand its roster for the upcoming season.
The Cardinals decided to increase the roster by two spots for the upcoming season and offered two players a two-week extended tryout following Friday's walk-on tryout.
"It gives a better opportunity for us to have more practice players, especially with some of the injury potential," Matt Wolfert, associate athletics director and men's volleyball supervisor, said. "You always do a walk-on tryout and see some special players and evaluate them. They now get an opportunity to expand their game, and we can search a little bit for that diamond in the rough."
Last season Ball State had a 15-player roster, while other conference schools like Ohio State University had a 23-player roster and MIVA Tournament champion IPFW had a 16-player roster.
Of the 13 players attending Friday's walk-on tryout, only outside attackers James Emming and Dominic Spadevecchio received an extended tryout. Emming attended Moeller High School in Cincinnati, where he played with current Cardinal freshman Lee Meyer. Spadevecchio didn't play high school volleyball, but played for a Chicago club team.
"We had a chance to watch them this summer and began recruiting, but we didn't have the roster spots," coach Joel Walton said. "We were impressed with them and had some discussions with [Wolfert] about expanding our roster if we want them."
Walton said Ball State has a history of finding people through walk-on tryouts, such as current assistant coach and former player Kevin Furnish. However, in recent years the Cardinals haven't selected any players from walk-on tryouts because of the limited roster size, Walton said.
The last player to make the men's volleyball team through a walk-on tryout was Kenny Cook in 2002.
"We don't offer a whole lot of scholarships and it's nice to work with these players to find a diamond in the rough and that's what our program has made it's history on," Walton said.
Walton said Emming and Spadevecchio elected to attend Ball State, not knowing if they would receive a roster spot. Also, he said if the two players make the team after the two-week tryout, both of them will most likely be redshirted this upcoming season because of the Cardinals' roster depth.
"When I found out they were here I still wanted to train them, because it wasn't in my best interest or their best interest for them to play on the club or intramurals team," Walton said. "If we do add them to [the] roster it's basically a year-long opportunity for them to be added to our playing roster."
Wolfert said if redshirted, the two players won't travel with the team to help eliminate the team's expenses. However, he said Emming and Spadevecchio will definitely contribute to the team through practices and, if they develop under Walton, they will eventually contribute during Ball State's matches.
"These are guys who are going to pour their heart into something and all we have to do is give them two to three sets of practice gear," Wolfert said.
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