Attention Ball State University students and alumni: there is a Ball State University team playing in Worthen Arena that is on the verge of being nationally ranked. It's time to show up and fully support them.
However, the team isn't men's basketball. It's not women's basketball either. Instead, it's the men's volleyball team, which has won the most conference championships of any Cardinals team.
Ball State has eight wins in its last nine matches, most recently defeating No. 8 The Ohio State University on Friday and Mercyhurst College on Saturday. The win against Ohio State was second consecutive win Ball State has had against a nationally ranked team, and the Cardinals, who were listed at No. 16 in last week's coaches poll, should jump into the nation's top-15 rankings Monday when the newest poll is released.
The men's volleyball team hasn't won a conference championship since 2002. The team has tied the longest drought in program history, but this looks like the year that streak comes to an end.
Outside attacker Patrick Durbin is second in the conference averaging 4.12 kills per game and middle attacker is in the top-five for attack percent and was named a preseason All-MIVA player. In addition, the Cardinals are half-a-match behind first place Ohio State.
In Ball State's win against the Buckeyes on Friday, the Cardinals had a season-high 1,873 people in attendance.
This is good attendance number, but it doesn't even compare to average attendance Ball State would get in the 1980s or 1990s when the team was winning a MIVA championship nearly every three years. Even Charlie Cardinal has yet to make an appearance at a men's volleyball home match.
The Cardinals' next match will be 7:30 p.m. Wednesday against No. 12 Loyola-Chicago University.
Earlier in the season the Ramblers beat the Cardinals in Chicago. After that match, several Ball State players said one of the reasons they lost that match was because of Loyola's arena and home crowd.
Wednesday night is the time for Ball State students to turn the table on Loyola and show the home-court advantage at Worthen Arena is the best in the MIVA.
If you've never been to a volleyball match before, go Wednesday and discover the hidden gem of the Ball State athletics department. If you've attended a match before, return to Worthen and support a team in pursuit of berth in the NCAA Final Four.
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