Carthage College 2010 Men’s Volleyball Preview

 


GENERAL

 

Name of school

Carthage College

Location

Kenosha, Wis.

Founded

1847

Enrollment

2,475

Nickname

Red Men

School colors

Red, white and black

Home arena

Tarble Arena

Capacity

2,385

Affiliation

NCAA Division III

Conference

CCIW

President

F. Gregory Campbell

Athletics director

Robert Bonn

Assistant athletics director

Steve Marovich

Senior woman administrator

Leanne Ulmer

Athletics phone

262-551-5942

 

HISTORY

 

First year of men’s volleyball

2005

Overall all-time record

80-70, 5 years

Years in NCAA/last

N/A

Last post-season opponent, year

N/A

Result

N/A

 

SPORTS INFORMATION

 

Sports information director

Steve Marovich

SID e-mail

stevich@concentric.net

SID office phone

262-551-5740

SID home phone

262-551-5547

SID Fax

262-551-5926 or 815-371-2840 (Internet fax)

Athletics fax

262-551-5995

Hotline

262-551-5388

Athletics web site

http://www.carthage.edu/athletics

SID Mailing Address

2001 Alford Park Drive

Kenosha, WI  53140

 

LOCAL MEDIA

 

Kenosha News

Dave Marran, sports editor

715 58th St./Kenosha, WI  53141

262-656-6290; 262-657-4946 (FAX)

sports@kenoshanews.com

 

Racine Journal-Times

Susan Shemanske, sports editor

212 4th St./Racine, WI  53403

262-631-1750; 262-631-1780 (FAX)

racine.sports@lee.net

 

COACHING STAFF

 

Head Coach

L.J. Marx

Alma mater, year

Carthage, 2003

Record at school (years)

80-70 (5 years)

Career record (years)

80-70 (5 years)

Men’s volleyball phone

262-551-5933

Best time to reach

9 a.m. – Noon

E-Mail

lmarx@carthage.edu

Head athletics trainer

Laurie Jensen

           

TEAM INFORMATION

 

 

Total

Home

Away

Neutral

2009 record

8-25

6-12

2-9

0-4

M-III record

4-0

2-0

2-0

0-0

 

Conference finish

1st

Final ranking last year

13th

Poll

AVCA

Starters returning/lost

5/1

Letterwinners returning/lost

 

 

2009 SCHEDULE

 

Date

Day

Opponent

Time/Result

Location

Jan. 13

Wed.

Loyola (Ill.)

7 p.m.

Chicago, Ill.

Jan. 15

Fri.

D’Youville

7 p.m.

Kenosha, Wis.

Jan. 16

Sat.

Ball State

7 p.m.

Kenosha, Wis.

Jan. 22

Fri.

Ball State

7:30 p.m., EST

Muncie, Ind.

Jan. 23

Sat.

Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne

7 p.m., EST

Fort Wayne, Ind.

Jan. 26

Tue.

Lewis

7 p.m.

Romeoville, Ill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUNY Tech Tournament

 

 

Jan. 30

Sat.

TBA

TBA

Utica, N.Y.

Jan. 31

Sun.

TBA

TBA

Utica, N.Y.

 

 

 

 

 

Feb. 1

Mon.

Sage Colleges

7 p.m., EST

Albany, N.Y.

Feb. 5

Fri.

Quincy

7 p.m.

Quincy, Ill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

M-III Crossover Tournament I

 

 

Feb. 6

Sat.

*Mount St. Joseph

Noon

St. Louis, Mo.

Feb. 6

Sat.

*Fontbonne

4 p.m.

St. Louis, Mo.

 

 

 

 

 

Feb. 10

Wed.

*MSOE

7:30 p.m.

Kenosha, Wis.

Feb. 19

Fri.

Ohio State

7 p.m., EST

Columbus, Ohio

Feb. 20

Sat.

Mount St. Joseph

11 a.m., EST

Cincinnati, Ohio

Feb. 24

Wed.

Clarke

7 p.m.

Kenosha, Wis.

Feb. 28

Sun.

Quincy

1 p.m.

Kenosha, Wis.

March 5

Fri.

Emerson

6 p.m., EST

Boston, Mass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

M.I.T. Tournament

 

 

March 6

Sat.

TBA

TBA

Cambridge, Mass.

March 7

Sun

TBA

TBA

Cambridge, Mass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wisconsin Invitational

 

 

March 19

Fri.

New York University

TBA

Kenosha, Wis.

March 20

Sat.

Nazareth

TBA

Kenosha, Wis.

 

 

 

 

 

March 24

Wed.

*MSOE

7 p.m.

Milwaukee, Wis.

March 26

Fri.

Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne

7 p.m.

Kenosha, Wis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

M-III Crossover Tournament II

 

 

March 27

Sat.

*Mount St. Joseph

1 p.m.

Milwaukee, Wis.

March 27

Sat.

*Fontbonne

5 p.m.

Milwaukee, Wis.

 

 

 

 

 

March 31

Wed.

Clarke

7 p.m.

Dubuque, Iowa

April 9-10

Fri-Sat.

M-III Tournament

TBA

Kenosha, Wis.

April 16-17

Fri-Sat.

Molten Championship

TBA

TBA

 

*Midwest-III Volleyball Conference match

Home matches in bold

Times listed are Central Time, except as noted

 

PLAYER INFORMATION

 

Returnees

R/L

Name

Pos.

Yr.

MP-MS

Pct.

Blocks

Honors

R

Tim Walker

MB

Jr.

24-19

.433

0.83

All-Midwest-III

R

Matt Yanz

MB

So.

30-23

.306

1.08

All-Midwest-III

R

Randy Hansen

OH

So.

33-32

.185

0.46

All-Midwest-III

R

Tom O’Connell

MB

Jr.

24-16

.162

0.73

All-Midwest-III

R

Eric Ball

OH

Sr.

32-31

.162

0.41

All-Midwest-III

 

Newcomers

Name

Pos.

Yr.

Hometown (High School)

Honors

Jake Conrad

L/S

Sr.

Libertyville, Ill. (Lewis University)

2007 honorable mention all-state

Joe Duda

L

Fr.

Arlington Heights, Ill. (Buffalo Grove)

 

Chris Falknor

OH

Fr.

Arlington Heights, Ill. (Buffalo Grove)

2007 and 2008 Chicago Tribune all-state

Mark Kunberger

L

Fr.

Lombard, Ill. (Glenbard East)

All-DuPage Valley Conference

Alex Mendez

RS

Fr.

Lackawanna, N.Y. (Canisius)

All-Western New York Conference

 

CARTHAGE MEN’S VOLLEYBALL NOTES

 

2009 Season Review

After returning just two-of-nine letterwinners from the 2008 team, the 2009 Carthage College men’s volleyball team (8-25, 4-0 Midwest-III Volleyball Conference) was probably due for a re-building year.  Since launching the varsity program in 2005, head coach L.J. Marx (80-70, 5 years) compiled winning seasons in three of his first four years, including appearances at the 2005 and 2007 Molten Championships.

 

After going 3-4 over their first seven matches, Carthage lost five in a row, defeated the Milwaukee School of Engineering on Feb. 3 and then lost a school-record 15-straight matches between Feb. 10 and March 17.  The Red Men recovered late in the season, winning four of their last five matches, and winning the Midwest-III Conference Tournament.  Carthage swept the Milwaukee School of Engineering (10-19, 2-2 M-III), 3-0, in the title match.  The Red Men’s winning set scores over the Raiders were 30-18, 30-25 and 30-26.  MSOE swept Fontbonne University (0-19, 0-4 M-III), 3-0, in a semifinal match.  MSOE’s winning set scores over Fontbonne were 30-13, 30-26 and 30-28. The 2009 season marked the second year of competition for the three-team league.

 

Five members of the Carthage team were named All-Midwest-III Conference.  Those five were outside hitter Randy Hansen (So., Oak Lawn, Ill., 3.22 kills per game), middle blocker Tim Walker (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis./Marquette University High School, .433 attack percentage, 2.30 kills per game, 0.83 blocks per game), middle blocker Matt Yanz (So., Bolingbrook, Ill./Naperville-Central, .306 attack percentage, 2.02 kills per game, 1.08 blocks per game), middle blocker Tom O’Connell (Jr., Chicago, Ill./Brother Rice, 2.65 kills per game, 0.73 blocks per game) and outside hitter Eric Ball (Sr., Naperville, Ill./North, 2.74 kills per game).  Hansen was also named M-III “Player of the Year” and “Freshman of the Year.”

 

Carthage ended the regular season ranked 13th in the Bison/American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III poll.  Juniata College (14-7, 16 first-place votes) was ranked first in the in the poll, followed by the Stevens Institute of Technology (25-6) second, the University of California-Santa Cruz (13-9) third, Springfield College (14-8) fourth, Nazareth College (28-5) fifth, Rivier College (33-2) sixth, New York University (9-19) seventh, Vassar College (19-8) eighth, Philadelphia Biblical University (21-12) ninth, Ramapo College (24-7) 10th, Baruch College (35-10) 11th,  Endicott College (22-12) 12th, Carthage College (8-25) 13th, the Milwaukee School of Engineering (10-19) 14th and Eastern Mennonite University (14-18) ranked 15th.

 

While the NCAA sponsors a national championship for men’s volleyball, programs from all three divisions compete for just four berths in the yearly tournament. In the 33-year history of the men’s tournament, no NCAA Division III program has ever been selected to participate in the NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship.  The Molten Championship was started in 1997 in order to create a culminating event for NCAA Division III men’s volleyball.  The host school for the event receives one berth in the four-team event, along with the winners of the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) and the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA).  One at-large team from either the Midwest or West regions completes the four-team field.

 

A total of 51 NCAA Division III schools will sponsor men’s volleyball as a varsity sport in 2009-10.  With a required 50-team threshold now reached, the NCAA is expected to add a Division III championship, possibly in 2010-11.

 

2010 Season Outlook

Carthage returns 10-of-11 letterwinners and five-of-six starters from last year’s team.  Leading the returnees are the five All-Midwest III Conference players:  Randy Hansen, Tim Walker, Matt Yanz, Tom O’Connell and Eric Ball (Jr., Naperville, Ill./North, 2.74 kills per game).  Also returning are outside hitter/libero Mike Bynon (So., Burnt Hills, N.Y./Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake), setter John Condon (Sr., Libertyville, Ill.), middle blocker Tyler Frings (So., Hubertus, Wis./Milwaukee-Pius XI), setter Mike Greffly (Jr., Grayslake, Ill./Mundelein-Carmel Catholic) and right-side player Wojciech Snarski (So., Glenview, Ill./Park Ridge-Maine East).

 

Leading newcomers include libero/setter Jake Conrad (Sr., Libertyville, Ill., 2007 honorable mention all-state), a transfer from Lewis University, libero Joe Duda (Fr., Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove), outside hitter Chris Falknor (Fr., Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove), libero Mark Kunberger (Fr., Lombard, Ill./Glenbard East, All-DuPage Valley Conference and Daily Herald all-area) and right-side player Alex Mendez (Fr., Lackawanna, N.Y./Canisius, All-Western New York Conference).

 

The Red Men open the season on Jan. 13 at Loyola University (Ill.).  In addition to Midwest-III Conference matches against the Milwaukee School of Engineering and Fontbonne University, other opponents include NCAA Division I members Ohio State University, Ball State University and Indiana-Purdue at South Bend, along with D’Youville College, Emerson College, Lewis University, the College of Mount St. Joseph, Quincy University and The Sage Colleges.  Carthage also plays in tournaments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the State University of New York Technical Institute, while playing host to the Wisconsin Invitational on March 19-20.