FORT WAYNE – IPFW’s Ivan Matos stood at the corner of the court with his teammates during the first set of last week’s home volleyball match against No. 6 Lewis.
After the Mastodons lost the first set 25-15, which was the worst one-game beating of the young season, coach Arnie Ball inserted his senior outside hitter to see whether he could ignite a spark.
A week later, the glow is still burning.
Not only did IPFW come back to take a 3-2 victory, but Matos amassed a career-high 21 kills and was named the Sports Imports/AVCA Men’s Division I-II National Player of the Week to go along with his MIVA Player of the Week award.
“We got smashed on the first game,” Matos said. “I came in and saw the guys, but they couldn’t get any rhythm going. I asked them, ‘Are we going to play? Let’s do this. Let’s get it going like in practice.’ They all reacted. I reacted. It was a great way to get the second game started.”
The Mastodons won the second set 25-23, lost the third, then won the next two and the match, marking the first time since a 3-1 victory over No. 1 Pepperdine in the 2007 NCAA tournament semifinals that IPFW defeated a team ranked in the top 10.
“It changes my attitude. It changes their attitude,” Ball said of the win. “It changes everybody’s attitude; not just the players’, but the fans, the parents, the trainers, everybody; especially since our program has been there, and we’ve struggled for a while. To get a win like that, everybody wants to talk about it, everybody wants to be part of it. Practices are a lot more fun. I’m a lot more fun – not a lot more, just a little.”
The victory was the third straight for the Mastodons (6-3), who find themselves against another top-10 team Friday when they play host to No. 8 Ohio State (8-4). A night later, IPFW will be home against Cardinal Stritch (9-2), which is ranked No. 9 in the NAIA.
“It was a huge win for us, especially the first conference (MIVA) game of the season; them being ranked No. 6 and us not being ranked at all,” Matos said of the win over Lewis. “It was a great momentum start for us, and hopefully we can take it over against Ohio State this Friday.”
Athletes of note
IPFW junior Anita Henestrosa and sophomore Daniel Kang were named Summit League tennis players of the week. Henestrosa, playing at No. 1 singles, defeated Horizon League opponents from Valparaiso 6-0, 6-0, and from Cleveland State, 6-1, 6-1. She also posted two doubles victories. Kang had a win at No. 2 singles over his opponent from Dayton and won at No. 3 singles against St. Joseph’s (Ind.).
