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After two months of turmoil and confusion with a team that has hovered near the .500 mark, IPFW men’s volleyball coach Arnie Ball figures it’s time to put away the whip and let his experienced horses run down the stretch without additional prodding.
With only five regular-season matches remaining, including one tonight against Mercyhurst and another Saturday against Lewis, IPFW has stopped worrying about what once was and is focusing on what could be. And even though their records of 10-11 overall and 3-6 in the MIVA are more reminiscent of a struggling 13-17 season in 2005 than last year when they were 23-8 and NCAA tournament runners-up, the Mastodons are taking a more relaxed approach.
“We hope that’s what’s going to happen because we, as a staff and as a team, have looked at every angle we can look at in trying to make it better, and nothing has worked dramatically,” Ball said. “We’ve seen hints that some of the young kids have gotten better. But finally we said, ‘OK, maybe we just need to take some time off and get away from it a little bit.’ ”
Since winning five in a row in late January and early February, IPFW has been neither rousing nor rancid. Since mid-February, the Mastodons’ longest losing streak has been two and longest winning streak has been one. Their last outing was a 3-1 loss at George Mason, a team it beat 3-2 Jan. 25 in the Gates Center.
With five scheduled matches at home, senior setter Graydon Ainsworth hopes the familiar setting will aid in the team’s recovery before the first round of the MIVA tournament April 19.
“It’s a huge rejuvenation,” Ainsworth said. “It’s been rough on the road. We’ve got a solid fan base at home and it’s really fun, and it’s really rejuvenating to come and play in front of a home crowd.”
With a first-round MIVA tournament game likely to be played on the road against either Lewis or Loyola-Chicago, Ball said he hopes the home games will be the springboard his team needs before the postseason. But he also said he hopes letting off the throttle will pay dividends, as well.
A few weeks ago he tried various lineups, including benching most of the seniors and playing backups. Now he plans on using the seniors the rest of the way.
“We’ve gotten to the point where these are our guys, and they’re the guys we’re going to finish with,” he said. “They’re either going to make it happen or it’s
