2007 Season Review
The 2007 Carthage College men’s volleyball team (25-8), in its third year of varsity competition, came within four points of winning a title at the national level. At the Molten Championship, the only national post-season event for NCAA Division III men’s volleyball, Carthage lost to Juniata College (18-8), 3-2, in the title match. The tournament was hosted by Juniata in Huntingdon, Pa., and the Eagles’ winning game scores over the Red Men were 26-30, 28-30, 30-24, 30-28 and 15-11. In the semifinals, Carthage outlasted the Stevens Institute of Technology, 3-2, while Juniata defeated Springfield College, 3-1. The Red Men’s winning game scores over the Ducks were 30-27, 29-31, 32-30, 18-30 and 15-13. Juniata’s winning game scores over Springfield were 30-25, 30-28, 25-30 and 30-26.
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 38-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. Forty-five schools currently sponsor men’s volleyball at the NCAA Division III level, and 50 are needed before the NCAA can consider spinning off an NCAA Division III Men’s Volleyball Championship.
En route to the Molten Championship, Carthage won the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association’s (MIVA) Molten Division championship with a 6-0 record and rolled up a school-record 13-match winning streak between March 7 and April 13. Five of the Red Men’s eight losses came at the hands of NCAA Division I or NCAA Division II members of the MIVA.
Juniata College (18-8, 15 first-place votes) was ranked first in the final American Volleyball Coaches Association/College Sports Television NCAA Division III poll, followed by Carthage (25-8, 1 first-place vote) second, Springfield College (19-9) third, the University of California-Santa Cruz (11-7) fourth, the Stevens Institute of Technology (33-9) fifth, New York University (13-16) sixth, D’Youville College (25-11) seventh, Eastern Mennonite University (22-11) eighth, Nazareth College (23-7) ninth, Clarke College (13-17) 10th, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (27-6) 11th, Newbury College (30-12) 12th, the State University of New York-New Paltz (22-10) tied for 13th with Rivier College (17-13) and Medaille College (10-14) ranked 15th. Carthage entered the 2007 Molten Championship as the top-ranked team in the nation.
Four members of the Carthage team were named 2007 American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III All-America. Middle blocker T.J. Bellei (graduated-senior, Lake Forest, Ill., .445 attack percentage, 2.83 kills per game, 1.10 blocks per game) and setter Matt Ulmer (graduated-senior, Buffalo Grove, Ill./Lincolnshire-Stevenson, .251 attack percentage, 10.32 assists per game) were named to the first team, while libero Ryan Baumgartner (graduated-senior, Naperville, Ill./Nequa Valley, 3.69 digs per game) and middle blocker Rob Koehler (graduated-senior, Waukesha, Wis./Brookfield-Central, .384 attack percentage, 2.57 kills per game, 1.13 blocks per game) earned second-team honors. In addition, coach L.J. Marx (54-30, 3 years) was named 2007 American Volleyball Coaches Association “NCAA Division III Men’s Coach of the Year” for the second time. Marx also received the award in 2005.
2008 Season Outlook
Carthage returns eight-of-13 letterwinners but just two-of-five starters from last year’s 25-8 national runner-up team. Coach Marx must replace four graduated AVCA All-Americans, including middle blocker T.J. Bellei, setter Matt Ulmer, libero Ryan Baumgartner and middle blocker Rob Koehler. Also departed is outside hitter Shane Olson (West Chicago, Ill., .252). The two returning starters are outside hitters Allan Russo (Sr., Bridgeview, Ill./Oak Lawn) and Juri Veldre (Jr., West Allis, Wis./Central).
“We not only lost four AVCA All-Americans,” says coach Marx, “we lost most of our height, since three of those players were 6-8. In the past, we were bigger and stronger than most of our NCAA Division III opponents. This year, we’ll adapt to what we’re really good at. We’re very athletic, so we’ll play at a faster pace.”
Other returnees include setter Joe Dougherty (Jr., New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central, 6.17 assists per game), middle blocker Chris Allen (Fr., Basking Ridge, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan), outside hitter Eric Ball (So., Naperville, Ill./North), outside hitter David Bower (So., Lombard, Ill./Willowbrook, middle blocker/right side player John Lothman (Jr., St. Louis, Mo./Kirkwood) and outside hitter Andy Patton (So., Wauwatosa, Wis./East).
Leading newcomers include outside hitter Kyle Klaver (Fr., Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East, Chicago Tribune first-team all-state), middle blocker Tim Walker (Fr., Milwaukee, Wis./Marquette University High School, Wisconsin Boys Volleyball Coaches Association all-state) and outside hitter Matt Wallace (Fr., Plainfield, Ill./Naperville-Nequa Valley, Chicago Tribune second-team all-state).
After three years of affiliation with the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA), Carthage will help form a new league in 2008, the Midwest-III Volleyball Conference (M-III VC). The two other members of the new, three-team league are Fontbonne University and the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Carthage travels to three tournaments in 2008, including the Jan. 26-27 Stevens Institute of Technology Tournament, the Feb. 8-9 Nazareth College Tournament and the March 15-17 Carthage “Spring Break Invitational” in Avon Park, Fla. All three tournaments feature all or mostly NCAA Division III schools.
“We’re an NCAA Division III team, “ points out Marx. “We played a lot of NCAA Division I and Division II teams the past three years, because we needed the association with the MIVA. On the other hand, playing the MIVA schedule did not paint a good picture of what we were. This year, we’re making a significant attempt to bulk up our NCAA Division III schedule, even if it means traveling to make that happen.”
“We’re also setting ourselves up for the next phase in our program when with an NCAA Division III Men’s Volleyball Championship,” continues Marx. “We need 50 teams to make that happen, and then there are NCAA budgeting cycles to work through. We expect to reach that 50-team threshold in 2008-09, so a two-to-four year window before we have the national championship seems likely.”
“The Midwest-III Volleyball Conference will be our platform for that next phase,” says Marx. “While we only have three league teams at the moment, I expect other schools will add the sport once the NCAA championship comes on board. As schools in our region add men’s volleyball, we see our conference as a natural destination. Once we get enough schools to join us, we can apply for the NCAA automatic qualifier. We’re laying the groundwork for all that, and there shouldn’t be a lapse when we’re not part of a national-championship process.”