Ohio State Picked to finish second in the MIVA

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Ohio State Men's Volleyball Picked to finish second in the MIVA Shondell/Dunlap Division

Daniel Mathews and John Albertson named to the MIVA Preseason All-Conference Team

Dec. 15, 2006

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio State, by a vote of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) Shondell/Dunlap Division coaches, has been picked to finish second in the Division. Ohio State was 20-12 overall last season and finished fourth in the Shondell/Dunlap Division with a 7-5 mark. The Buckeyes advanced to the MIVA Tournament Semifinals before losing to Loyola. Ohio State received two first place votes while preseason favorite IPFW received five. Loyola was picked to finish third, Ball State fourth and Lewis fifth. Rounding out the division, Quincy was selected sixth and Mercyhurst seventh.

Setter Daniel Mathews (Jr., Shorewood, Wis.) and middle hitter John Albertson (Jr./So., Ballwin, Mo.) have been named to the 10-player 2007 MIVA Shondell/Dunlap Division preseason All-Conference Team. Both Mathews and Albertson were 2006 first-team selections of the MIVA Shondell/Dunlap Division All-Conference Team with Mathews an Asics/Volleyball Magazine second team All-American and Albertson named the MIVA Shondell/Dunlap Freshman of the Year. In division matches last season Mathews averaged 13.10 assists, 1.39 digs and 1.05 blocks per game with Albertson averaging 2.35 kills, 1.51 blocks and hitting .354.

Also named to the preseason team were Colin Lundeen, C.J. Macias and Josh Stewart from IPFW, James Grunst and Brian Guntli from Loyola, Nick Meyer and Ian Peckler from Ball State and Jared Dayton from Lewis.



2007 MIVA Shondell/Dunlap Division Preseason Team Ranking
Rank Team Points (1st place votes) 2006 Division Record
1 IPFW 9 (5) 9-3
2 Ohio State 17 (2) 7-5
3 Loyola 20 11-1
4 Ball State 25 8-4
5 Lewis 36 3-9
6 Quincy 41 3-9
7 Mercyhurst 48 1-11

2007 MIVA Coleman Division All-Conference Preseason Team
Student-Athlete School Pos. Hgt. Cl. Hometown
John Albertson Ohio State MH 6-6 Jr. Ballwin, Mo.
Jared Dayton Lewis OH 6-6 Jr. Laguna Hills, Calif.
James Grunst Loyola MB 6-8 Sr. Milwaukee, Wis.
Brian Guntli Loyola S 6-3 Sr. St. Louis, Mo.
Colin Lundeen IPFW S 6-3 Sr. Victoria, B.C.
C.J. Macias IPFW OH 6-4 Jr. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Daniel Mathews Ohio State S 6-6 Jr. Shorewood, Wis.
Nick Meyer Ball State OH 6-8 Sr. Cincinnati, Ohio
Ian Peckler Ball State L 6-3 Jr. Vernon Hills, Ill.
Josh Stewart IPFW M 6-8 Jr. St. Mary's, ONT

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Loyola Picked Third in MIVA Preseason Poll
James Grunst and Brian Guntli selected to Preseason All-MIVA team


Dec. 15, 2006

CHICAGO - The Loyola University Chicago menâ?TMs volleyball finished third in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Associationâ?TMs Preseason Poll, the conference announced Thursday. The Ramblers are seeking their third consecutive MIVA regular-season championship and first-ever MIVA Tournament championship in 2007.

In a vote conducted by the seven head coaches in MIVAâ?TMs Shondell/Dunlap Division, the Ramblers finished behind Ohio State (two first-place votes) and preseason favorite IPFW (five first-place votes), last season's MIVA Tournament champion. Ball State follows Loyola in fourth place with Lewis in fifth, Quincy in sixth then Mercyhurst in seventh.

Middle hitter James Grunst and setter Brian Guntli were both named to the All-MIVA Preseason Team. Ohio State and Ball State both had two all-conference selections as well while IPFW led the conference with three.

Grunst became Loyolaâ?TMs first underclassman to earn First-Team All-America honors last season with the schoolâ?TMs second-highest hitting percentage for a season (.490). Guntli distributed 1,264 assists last season, the tenth-highest total in school history, as the starter in 29 matches to earn First-Team All-MIVA honors.

Loyola begins its 2007 season against Lindenwood at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13 in Alumni Gym. MIVA Shondell/Dunlap Division play begins Friday, Jan. 19 when Loyola hosts IPFW.