It was 2005 the only other time I have seen something the likes of what I saw when watching back-to-back-to-back IPFW volleyball exhibition matches last Sunday. It was a completely revamped scene that sometimes saw all six active players on the court as new faces to everyone.
A big senior class last year had to breed a new, big freshman class this year, we all knew that. But that concept scared me a bit. It scared me just as much as it did in 2005 when unfamiliar names like Brock Ullrich and Josh Stewart joined the familiar’s of Matt Zybyszewski and Serdar Sikca.
I guess I can rest easy now. Because what I saw made me crack a reminiscent smile. Much like that January day in 2005, I have found myself thinking “these new kids- they are going to do alright.”
More than alright, they were pretty impressive on a 2-1 day where they hung with a pretty experienced Ball State, even in a loss.
To me, last year’s team and the personality driven spark that they put out cannot be replaced. But this team has already, in one day, gone a long way in reminding me that I also once had to adjust to those departed ex-players.
The roster has the names of twelve players who, coming into this year, have never worn the blue and white in a match. Eight of them did it for the first time Sunday in Gates and for the most part, they did it delightfully.
While familiar faces of ex-IPFW players Dan McNerney and Jason Yhost watched from the stands and another former player, Jon Bassillo, sat nearby on the sidelines as part of the Quincy coaching staff- it was the sight of Phil Peterson, Jonathan Meyer, Eric Hardek and a host of others that peaked my interest the most.
Peterson, thus far, is the most impressive I have seen a freshman be since Josh Stewart in the 2005 regular season. He led IPFW in kills against Carthage and Ball State as well as overall for the day with a powerfully fast spike. Filling in the void of CJ Macias, Ullrich and Yhost on the outside will be a difficult task, but Peterson showed that he will be a big part of that. And while his passing and defense sometimes looked weak, he also led IPFW on the block. I can see his versatility being the main ingredient in how successful this team can be from the early going.
I’m equally impressed by the power, control and emotion of sophomore Darryl Shank, who played little as a freshman. Arnie Ball is going to have his hands full in deciding the balance between these two, as well as freshmen Hardek and Ivan Matos on the outsides as all four showed a major upside over the weekend with day-totals of 28, 24, 18 and 10 kills (more than 60 percent of the team’s total).
And if it was only the outside hitters, I would still be impressed. But it was much more.
Chris Brigson showed much of that freshman inexperience early on the offensive side but also helped stuff down the opponent with big middle blocks alongside Oliver Kook and Nathaniel Berg. Freshman Dan Mader is going to give Corey Stewart and Kevin Goncalves a run for their money at the setter spot where both Mader and Stewart showed Sunday that they are very capable of handling one of the most important positions of any IPFW team. And, I cannot wait to see the battle at libero between the veterans Mike Morici and Matt Pliske, each of whom has led IPFW to a Final Four appearance. Not to mention, they have a little libero in the wings in Garrett Bitter who will be anxiously waiting, watching and learning.
This team has restored hope in my mind (not that all of it was lost). If they continue to develop over these next two months of practice, I can only imagine that they will be a special thing to watch in many ways come that January 9 home opener.
No comments:
Post a Comment