After a 3-0 victory against Eastern Michigan (21-10) Friday inthe Mid-American Conference Women's Volleyball Tournament, BallState (17-15) was eliminated from the tournament Saturday byeventual champion Ohio (28-4).
The Cardinals went into the match with the Bobcats riding thehigh of tearing through the Eagles the night before. Also adding totheir confidence was the fact that Ohio had struggled against itsFriday night opponent Western Michigan, which took them to fivegames.
Although he knew that Western Michigan matched up with Ohio muchbetter than his team did, Ball State head coach Randy Litchfieldhad his fingers crossed that the tough match might take Ohio out ofits game. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, it did not.
"I was hoping that they would be a little tight and get a littlejittery," Litchfield said. "I think they got rid of that the nightbefore. We played a team that was in great control of themselvesand their game."
Early on against the Bobcats, the Cards were in control and ledmost of game one. Then the wheels came off.
"We made some real bad mistakes," Litchfield said. "It would beinteresting to know how Ohio would have responded if we would'vepushed it and taken game one."
The entire night, Ohio used its dominant physical presence tocontrol the pace and style of game. After three games, the Bobcatshad advanced to the finals, which they won from Marshall on Sundayin three games as well.
Ohio's 28 wins are the most by any MAC school since Ball Statewon 28 back in 1999. Litchfield says that this year's Bobcats areone of the best teams the league has seen in a while.
"They've got great offensive balance," he said. "They're veryphysical at the net, but they also ball control very well."
Ohio's Laura Hageman, the two-time MAC Player of the Year, wasnamed the tournament's Most Valuable Player. She was joined on theall-tournament team by teammate Briana Adamovsky, Marshall's AshleyBarnard and Christin Bimberg, Akron's Lori Snider and Ball State'sSarah Obras.
Although he was disappointed with the way the season ended,Litchfield was pleased with the progress Ball State made throughoutthe season.
"We got a lot better," he said. "When we were in our elementcompetitively, I thought we got real good. Which was evident in ourMAC Tournament with the way we handled Miami (Ohio) and EasternMichigan."
The Cardinals' season is not quite over though. Next weekend,they will travel to Louisville, Ken. to take on nationally rankedLouisville and Cincinnati as part of the MAC/Conference-USAChallenge. Litchfield said that on top of pride, there is stillsomething, or more specifically someone, for Ball State to playfor.
"I want to do something very specific for Meredith Fancher (theteam's lone senior)," he said. "I want to beat a top-25 team or twoin her career, and we have not done that. I want to go win a matchor two for Meredith's résumé. I think it is a greatway to send her out."
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