Press Release courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
The Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association announced its second Hall of Fame class on Monday (April 16). The 10-member group included a pair of Buckeyes in Terry Liskevych and Bruce Nowicki.
“We inducted our first class last year and this class is as accomplished,” Craig Barnett, MIVA Commissioner, said. “The Hall of Fame Committee has done a phenomenal job identifying who helped grow the MIVA and the game of volleyball.”
The 2018 Hall of Fame class will be officially inducted on May 12 in O’Fallon, Ill., at the league’s annual meeting.
Liskevych served as Ohio State head coach for two seasons (1975-76), winning MIVA Coach of the Year in both campaigns. His Buckeyes finished third nationally in back-to-back seasons as well while compiling an overall record of 45-7 (.865). Prior to becoming a Buckeye, Liskevych started his coaching career as an assistant (1972-73) for then-MIVA member George Williams College. Post-Ohio State, he parlayed a successive run as the University of Pacific women’s volleyball coach (1976-85) into a role as the USA Women’s National Team Coach from 1985-96; bringing home an Olympic Bronze medal in 1992. Liskevych was a member of the AVCA Hall of Fame Inaugural Class in 2003.
Nowicki earned MIVA Player of the Year recognition in 1966, the first Buckeye to do so. He donned the Scarlet & Gray from 1963-66 and earned All-MIVA honors in each of his four seasons. Nowicki was a First Team member in ’64 and ’66 while making the Second Team in ’63 and ’65.
The MIVA Hall of Fame contingent will grow to 21 members upon this class’ induction on May 12, eight of which are Ohio State Buckeyes. Six of the 11 Hall of Famers selected for the inaugural class in 2017 were Buckeyes.
Below is the complete 2018 MIVA Hall of Fame Class:
Arnie Ball – student-athlete/coach – Ball State/IPFW
1966-1967 (student-athlete at Ball State) / 1981-2015 (coach at IPFW) – six-time MIVA Coach of the Year – six MIVA Regular-Season Championships – six NCAA Semifinals Appearances – coached 25 All-Americans including two future Olympians – coached USA Volleyball World University and U.S. Olympic Festival teams – as a player at Ball State, All-MIVA First Team (1967) and Second Team (1966) – AVCA Hall of Fame member.
Lloy Ball – student-athlete – IPFW
1991-1994 – three NCAA Semifinals Appearances – two-time MIVA Player of the Year (1993 & 1994) – three-time All-American – AVCA National Freshman of the Year in 1991 – four-time United States Olympian (1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008) – Olympic Gold-Medalist (2008) – MVP and Best Setter in the World League in 2008 (World League) – earned multiple team championships in Russian and Greek Professional Leagues.
Tom Beerman – student-athlete – Ball State
1960-1963 – MIVA Player of the Year and All-MIVA First Team in 1963 – played for United States International Teams in the 1969 Zonal Championship and 1970 World Championships – named to a United State Volleyball Association’s All-America First Team in 1970 – assistant coach for the United States team in the 1974 Canadian International Tournament.
Mick Haley – student-athlete – Ball State
1962-1965 – All-MIVA setter all three years at Ball State – 1965 MIVA Player of the Year – led Ball State to MIVA titles in 1964 and 1965 – coached Kellogg Community College men’s volleyball teams to four national titles, being inducted into the Junior College Coaches Hall of Fame for his work with the men’s and women’s teams – longtime Texas and USC women’s volleyball head coach, winning two national titles with Texas – named head coach of the USA Women’s National Team in 1997.
Terry Hitchcock – student-athlete/official – Ball State
Played for Ball State in 1960 – longtime volleyball official.
Terry Liskevych – coach – Ohio State/George Williams
1972-1976 – served as head coach at Ohio State from 1974-76, winning the 1975 and 1976 MIVA Coach of the Year awards – The 1975 and 1976 teams finished third in the nation – started coaching career as an assistant with George Williams in 1972-73 – coached the University of Pacific women’s team from 1976-85 – served as head coach of the USA Women’s National Team from 1985-96, winning an Olympic Bronze medal in 1992 – inducted into the in the AVCA Hall of Fame Inaugural Class in 2003.
Bill Neville – student-athlete – George Williams
1965-1967 – All-MIVA Second Team in 1965 and 1967 for George Williams – served as the head coach of the Canadian Men’s National Team in 1972 – assistant coach for the USA Men’s National team, helping the United States Men to their first ever gold medal in 1984 – women’s head coach at Montana State and Washington.
Bruce Nowicki – student-athlete – Ohio State
1963-1966 – MIVA Player of the Year in 1966, the first Buckeye to win the award – All-MIVA First Team in 1964 and 1966 – All-MIVA Second Team in 1963 and 1965.
Blake Sebring – media – Fort Wayne News-Sentinel
Awarded E. Douglas Boyden Award for media recognition in 1994 by USA Volleyball – senior writer for Volleyball Magazine – volleyball historian – covered Olympic Festivals and NCAA Tournaments – co-wrote Lloy Ball’s book The Biggest Mistake I Never Made.
Bob Stein – student-athlete – Earlham College
1964-1967 – MIVA Player of the Year and All-MIVA First Team in 1967 – aided the Quakers’ fifth place finish in the United States Volleyball Association (USVBA) Championships in 1967 – All-MIVA Second Team in 1965 and 1966 – inducted into Earlham College Hall of Fame in 2017.
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