Eight teams are left in the Mid-American Conference Women'sVolleyball Tournament, and this weekend, they will converge onWorthen Arena to decide who's the best.
For No. 4 seeded Ball State (16-14), the road to a MACTournament championship and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournamentcontinues tonight against No. 5 Eastern Michigan (21-9).
The Cardinals advanced to the quarterfinals Tuesday night with a3-0 victory against Miami (Ohio). The same night, the Eagles downedBowling Green 3-1 in Ypsilanti, Mich.
BSU and EMU split the regular-season series, with Ball Statewinning the more recent of the two meetings 3-1 on Nov. 15. Thefact that the two teams met so recently acts as both an advantageand disadvantage for both teams, BSU head coach Randy Litchfieldsaid.
"I think it benefits a young team like ours to not have torelearn our scouting report," he said. " Eastern Michigan has thesame advantage in scouting. At this level, you don't know if youcan beat a team twice in a row. It gets a lot tougher."
Litchfield also said the two teams are extremely familiar witheach other, to the point the Eagles are predictable to theCardinals, but that does not make the match any easier though,Litchfield said.
"They are predictable, but they are because they are pretty goodat what they do," he said. "It boils down to execution for EasternMichigan. They are not going to fool us, but if they execute well,they'll be tough to beat."
Another factor that might make the match more difficult for BallState is the possible absence of redshirt sophomore Melissa Oliver.The middle attacker missed the Cards' match Tuesday because of ashoulder injury and might not be available against the Eagles.Litchfield said he is confident Ball State can get by withoutOliver, but her presence would be more than welcome.
"That lineup just played great on Tuesday night, yet we alsoknow that Mel presents matchup problems against Eastern Michigan,"he said. "She has had some of her best matches in the past againstthem."
If Ball State wins tonight, it will face the winner of No. 1Ohio vs. No. 9 Western Michigan. With a possible match against thetournament-favorite Bobcats on the horizon, Litchfield said it isimpossible for the Cardinals to look any further than EasternMichigan.
"Years where we've been the favorite in the tournament, it hasbeen difficult to focus on one match at a time," he said. "Thisyear, it has felt like we've been fighting for our lives night inand night out. There is no way that any of us are looking pastEastern Michigan."
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