The majority of Ball State will take a much-needed vacation next week. The men's volleyball team, however, will spend its Spring Break doing battle against some of the best teams in the nation.
No. 8 Ball State (14-1 overall, 8-0 MIVA) will begin its annual spring challenge Saturday facing George Mason (8-3), a team that is barely out of a national ranking. Ball State has won two of every three all-time matches (30-15) against the Patriots and won last year's match in five games.
The Cards will then face No. 4 Penn State (13-2) the following Monday. Ball State has lost lost two of every three against Penn State (20-40) and lost last year's home meeting. This time, the Cards have the pleasure of facing an 8-0 home team in Penn State. The Cards' only loss this year has come on the road.
Finally, Ball State will wrap up its week with back-to-back matches against defending national champions No. 5 Brigham Young (11-5). Although the Cards are 4-7 lifetime against the Cougars, Brigham Young has fallen on hard times lately, being swept 3-0 in back-to-back home matches.
Head coach Joel Walton says the school graduated the core of last year's team and will not be the same.
"The team we're going to see this year is not that same (champion) team," he said. "They've lost a pretty good chunk of what last year's team was, so there's a pretty clear distinction. They are still a very good team, but they are not the national title team from last season."
These matches, the bulk of a six-match road trip, are not conference matches. Walton said, however, that they are just as important for the sake of respect. He says non-conference matches are a way of earning a higher rank.
"(This trip) is going to be highly competitive, and that makes it that much more exciting," Walton says. "We are going to be on the road against highly-ranked opponents and the confidence that would come from (road victories) would definitely make our team stronger.
"It would be one more piece of the puzzle as far as our guys having the strong belief that they are one of the best teams in the country."
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