While trying to build for the future of his IPFW men's volleyball team, the first thing Arnie Ball did with his new team was show them some of its past. On the first day of practice Monday after the holiday break, Ball sat his squad down and showed them the tape of the Volleydons' 1994 classic match against No. 1 UCLA at Gates Sports Center.

“Guys were hooting and hollering and carrying on,” Ball said. “They couldn't believe all the people there, and we had some pretty good players on that team. We were trying to get them to understand that they are part of this whole thing. You have to put in the same kind of sacrifices as those guys did. They just need the connection.”

It may take some time for this squad to get there because this will be one of the most-inexperienced teams Ball has fielded in his 28 seasons. Five starters graduated, including three all-conference players, and one of the returners is a sophomore, while the other is a libero. There are only two seniors, so Ball doesn't really know what he has or how good the talent will be, but he starts finding out at 7 p.m. today when IPFW takes on Puerto Rico-Mayaguez.

Oliver Kook is the returning middle hitter, and junior Matt Pliske is the returning libero, though Mike Morici is also back at that position following an injury last year. Freshman Patrick Pinto from Brazil will also battle for playing time.

The rest of the lineup is open to interpretation on a match-by-match basis. Corey Stewart is competing with Dan Mader for the starting setter's spot, Ben Duckworth will likely be the opposite and Darryl Shank will be one outside hitter, but there are lots of players trying for the other outside and other middle hitter spot. If someone isn't playing well, Ball will be quick to try someone else.

“From a positive, you've got a lot of kids competing and practice has been pretty good,” Ball said. “We have to remember that they are very young, but they enjoy playing the game and are excited about being part of the college experience. If we can just keep them focused and be careful not to burn them out, I don't know what it will lead to but it certainly has some potential.

“Hopefully they don't get too beat up so they get discouraged. We have to teach them the game, and I've done more teaching in the last three days than I did with the whole group last year. For the most part, they are like sponges when it comes to that stuff because they have not been exposed to this.”