Following the No. 14 Ball State University men's volleyball team's sweep against No. 7 UCLA on Saturday, coach Joel Walton shook hands with Bruins' coach Al Scates and then immediately looked for a microphone.
With record crowd at Worthen Arena, Walton wanted to make sure all 3,572 people in attendance knew how much their support meant to the Cardinals.
"Thank you Muncie for coming out to support the team," Walton said as he addressed the crowd. "You guys were awesome."
The Cardinals' two wins against the Bruins in the Don Shondell Challenge set home attendance records at both matches.
The Cardinals set a Worthen Arena-record for men's volleyball with 3,429 people in attendance Friday, which was surpassed by 143 people Saturday.
"It's pretty special," Walton said. "To win and see some of our alumni, our parents and some people I know in Muncie so excited about the Ball State men's volleyball program it means a lot."
Prior to this weekend the Cardinals season-high attendance was 1,873, and they did not have an attendance greater than 1,600 in the more than three seasons.
Setter Ethan Pheister said the energy coming from the crowd was unbelievable. He also said to play a home match in front of that many people was an incredible experience.
"It really feels like you're in a college atmosphere," Pheister said. "This is how college sports are supposed to be with big crowds coming out."
Middle attacker J.D. Gasparovic said one of the reasons he played well against UCLA on Friday was because of the crowd.
Gasparovic finished Friday's match with a match-high 12 blocks, including six blocks in game four. He also was one of three Ball State players to have nine kills.
"It was just ridiculous and so loud," Gasparovic said. "I was just living off of the energy."
With this weekend, the Cardinals' home attendance average increased more than 60 percent and is now at 1,463.
In addition, the men's volleyball trails the women's basketball team by 67 people for the third highest attendance average of all Ball State sports.
Former Ball State coach Don Shondell, who was in attendance for both matches, said Friday that Worthen Arena was the loudest he ever heard it this season for any sport.
"Student support was just outstanding, just spontaneous cheering all the time," Shondell said. "We didn't have cheerleaders or anything, but this was more cheering than we ever get in a basketball game."
AttendanceFriday and Saturday's attendance at the men's volleyball matches broke Worthen Arena records.
- Friday: 3,429 people
- Saturday: 3,572 people
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
