For the eighth consecutive season, the Ball State University men's volleyball team was unable to win in Loyola, Ill.
The Cardinals (1-4, 1-1 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) lost to No. 15 Loyola-Chicago University 30-24, 30-26, 30-26 Saturday. They have not won a road-match against the Ramblers since 2000.
Coach Joel Walton said his team struggles to play well at Loyola because the arena is smaller and has a lower ceiling than most arenas.
"The environment is difficult to play in," Walton said. "You need a mature team and they have to be relaxed in a loud environment. [Saturday] it was hot in there. I would see great effort from them, but it's hard to just relax and breath normally in there."
Ball State finished the match with a .200 attack percentage, compared to Loyola's .336, and had a season-high seven receiving errors.
Outside attacker Patrick Durbin said playing at Loyola has always been difficult for him.
"This is my fourth time playing there and I've never won," Durbin said. "It's always hot and a claustrophobe feeling. The lights are in an awkward position. It's not an excuse for the lose though."
The Loyola match was the second time outside attackers Durbin and Todd Chamberlain played this season. Durbin had a team-high nine kills; and Chamberlain had two kills in two games. Also, it was the first match this season a Cardinal player didn't have at least 10 kills.
Walton said both players struggled because they haven't been able to practice with the team until this week.
"They were definitely rusty, and it showed," he said.
With this loss, Ball State is 0-4 against nationally ranked teams.
The Cardinals next match will be against No. 3 Penn State University. However, after this weekend Walton said he's happy to play a non-conference opponent because it gives the team more time to practice the fundamentals before another conference match.
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