In typical Halloween fashion, the women's volleyball team spooked Miami Wednesday night, earning its 41st straight home victory with a 30-22, 30-25, 30-21 win in front of Ball State students and fans who were adorned in a variety of colorful costumes.
The Cardinals (16-6 overall, 12-2 Mid-American Conference) concluded their home regular season match play with the 3-game win, but head coach Randy Litchfield said the team wasn't as focused as it could have been.
"To be honest, I thought we were pretty mediocre tonight," Litchfield said. "We were fortunate that Miami did not play very well. I think we definitely got caught up in looking ahead to Friday's match at Northern Illinois. However, if we can do that and win, then fine."
Senior Megan Hammons, who entered the match just 24 kills shy of the MAC's all-time career kills record, finished with 13, leaving her needing only 11 on Friday night to claim the top mark.
"The mark that Megan is about to reach is great for her and great for our program," Litchfield said. "There are some phenomenal names on that list and she is about to be at the top. Megan will be focused on winning a big match Friday night, but as she goes so does our team, so I expect her to be ready to play Friday."
Tammy Schiller of Bowling Green set the current MAC mark of 1,709 over ten years ago.
Ball State hit .203 as a team for the match, while the RedHawks managed a meager .136 mark. No Miami player had more than eight kills in the match, while three Cardinals finished with 10 or more.
Junior Katie Butts slammed 12 kills and senior Julie Zylka threw down 11 for Ball State. Hammons also led the defensive charge with 21 digs, while Butts notched 14.
The Cards ended their regular-season home schedule with an unblemished record for the second straight season. Ball State's four seniors - Hammons, Susie Meshberger, Zylka and Jaime Stanley - have helped guide the Cardinals to a 48-4 four-year home record.
BSU's 41 straight home wins now ranks second in the nation. Northern Iowa holds the top spot with 43 in a row.
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