NAME: Ben Ball
UNIVERSITY: Trinity Western
CATEGORY: Student-athlete
SPORT: Men's volleyball
HIGHLIGHTS:
Two national championship titles
CW Athlete of the Year (2012)
CW & U SPORTS Player of the Year
Record-breaker for assists per set
BIOGRAPHY:
Ben Ball breathes success. The 2012 Trinity Western graduate laid down the foundation for Spartans volleyball as it is revered today. The former setter was the centrepiece of a squad that won back-to-back national championships in 2011 and 2012.
In his graduating year, he would not be denied. He helped the Spartans capture the Canada West banner after falling short the year prior before slashing through the competition at nationals. Ball and the Spartans dominated the first two games (3-0) before defeating Laval 3-1 in the championship finals. Ball was named the tournament MVP, the Canada West Player of the Year, the Canada West Athlete of the Year (all sports) and the U SPORTS Player of the Year.
His mark that year of assists per set (11.538) still endures as the second-most all time. His name is also in the CW record book under all-time career set assists (11th with 2742) and career set assists per set (12th with 9.264).
Ball helped eight teammates maintain averages of at least 1.3 kills per set, while guiding the Spartans to a CIS-leading 13.68 kills per set.
“Of all the guys I head coached, Ben was the first guy to truly be the best in the country while he was at Trinity Western. The offence he ran and the winning that surrounded him is why the legend of Ben Ball will live on forever. To go to three straight national finals and to culminate with the perfect season – National Player of the Year, Canada West Champion and National Champion – while leading arguably the best Canada West volleyball team ever in terms of points scored and efficiency is just incredible. He led the greatest offence that there’s ever been in Canada West. As a setter, it’s hard to deny how special that is. There were four future Olympians on that 2011-12 roster and he made it all click. When you’re around that many alphas, having a player who is that special and who can fit between the cracks is maybe one of Ben’s best traits. It was crazy to see how much more he got out of his players because of the person he was. That trait as a leader is so underrated. Because Ben was the setter, that group all performed better than their collective abilities and his teammates loved to play with him. These serial winners are a combination of character and competence and Ben was a perfect example of what that looks like,” said Ben Josephson, who coached Ball throughout his career with the Spartans.
Ball also has two Canada West all-star selections to his name and U SPORTS all-star status.
Ball was recently named the Interim Co-Head Coach of the Trinity Western men’s volleyball team after serving as an assistant coach with the program for 10 years.
“Winning surrounds Ben. He won in high school and then he won in university and then he joined the Spartans staff as an assistant coach and we won another three national championships. Ben just has this amazing ability to be encouraging and challenging at the same time. He makes the gym a fun place to be, but he also pushes guys to play better than they ever expected they could. Winning just follows him wherever he goes and there aren’t a lot of people I have come across who have been part of as many successful things as Ben Ball,” said Josephson.