Match Point — The Rise of Men's Volleyball

Boys’ and men’s volleyball is the second-fastest growing sport in the United States, with a 21% growth rate over the past five years. However — it is sanctioned as a high-school boys' sport in just 22 states. As this growth trajectory continues, it is becoming a popular alternative for boys who would otherwise play football or basketball. What makes it attractive? Why should young boys try this sport? The head coach of the USA Men's Olympic Volleyball Team has some answers.

Additionally, in cities like Chicago — a hotbed for boys’ high school and club volleyball — a sport that was once flooded by upper-middle class white kids is beginning to see rapid growth among black and hispanic athletes.

This short-form documentary follows the United States Men’s Volleyball National Team Head Coach John Speraw, collegiate coach Nickie Sanlin, and youth club director Ed Wrather on a
journey through the state of men’s volleyball across the country. Along with several others, they discuss the opportunities men’s volleyball is presenting to the youth of America, the problems that the sport is facing, and the goals of the Olympic qualifying U.S. Men’s National Team.

  • Dr. Adam J. Kuban
    Executive Producers / Professors
    The Talk; A Living Future; Downstream
  • Dr. Jennifer Palilonis
    Executive Producers / Professors
  • Jacob Clouse
    Director
  • Parker Swartz
    Director
  • Parker Swartz
    Writer
  • Jacob Clouse
    Writer
  • Dr. Adam J. Kuban
    Producer
    The Talk; A Living Future; Downstream
  • Daniel Wood
    Producer
  • Clayton J. Easton
    Producer
  • Colton Howard
    Director of Photography
  • Jacob Clouse
    Editors
  • Adrienne Heckler
    Editors
  • Jake Helmen
    Field Audio
  • Colton Howard
    Field Audio
  • Jake Helmen
    Sound Design
  • Connor Hillestad
    Camera Op
  • Joel Johnson
    Camera Op
  • Gabbi Mitchell
    Camera Op
  • Hannah Gunnell
    Transcriptionists
  • Zach Piatt
    Transcriptionists
  • John Speraw
    Key Cast
    "Team USA Men's Olympic Volleyball Head Coach"
  • Nickie Sanlin
    Key Cast
    "Head Men's & Women's Volleyball Coach @ McKendree University (Illinois)"
  • Ed Wrather
    Key Cast
    "Head Coach Vortex Volleyball Club in Chicago (Illinois)"
  • Scott Siegfried
    Key Cast
    "Cherry Creek School District Superintendent (Colorado)"
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Student
  • Genres:
    Sports, Documentary, Volleyball, Team USA, USA, Film
  • Runtime:
    26 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    December 31, 2019
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes
Director Biography - Jacob Clouse, Parker Swartz

Jacob Clouse is a 22-year-old director, writer & editor born and raised in Indiana. He is in his senior year at Ball State University, where his major is in video production. Jacob's love for cameras stemmed from his childhood, but he was particularly influenced by the opportunity to photograph local and regional concerts and music festivals. Since arriving as a student at Ball State, he has taken part in 4 short films, serving as PA, field audio, sound designer, director, writer and editor. His current project — "Match Point: The Rise of Men's Volleyball" — is his directing debut, and he hopes to use this to spring into his career with aspirations to one day direct for a major streaming platform such as Netflix or Hulu.

Parker Swartz is an executive producer, co-director, and writer for Match Point: The Rise of Men’s Volleyball. Swartz is currently a graduate student working toward a master’s degree from The Center for Emerging Media Design and Development at Ball State University. He graduated from Ball State University in 2019 with his bachelor’s degree in advertising, while minoring in marketing and business. Swartz was an NCAA men’s volleyball student-athlete and represented Team USA at the 2018 FISU America Games in Brazil. He has a deep passion for the sport and is proud to be a part of its growth in America.

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Director Statement

From Jacob Clouse:

Although I have been well versed in the in’s and out’s of productions and immersive-learning project forms at Ball State, this was my first experience in the documentary style and also my first chance to write and direct a piece aside from smaller short films I have done personally. I have been lucky enough to work on some large-scale sets in the past, and that helped me in making sure we stayed on task, but I think ultimately I learned a lot about myself. Both as a storyteller and as a leader. Being able to get my ideas across to the crew was something I haven’t done in the past in terms of creative direction and the way I wanted things to look for the content. So I think the biggest takeaway from this documentary for me was being able to get those ideas and designs across to our wonderful crew in ways that both made sense and allowed them to flex their creative muscles so that the outcome was something we’d love.