If the Ball State University men's volleyball team is able to win the conference championship this season, it will most likely accomplish the feat in Columbus, Ohio.
No. 14 Ohio State University defeated second-place No. 11 Lewis University in four games Saturday to clinch at least a share of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association regular season title.
Having a one-and-half match lead, Ohio State (12-9, 8-1 MIVA) can secure the outright title and play host to the MIVA Tournament semifinals and championship match with a win against IPFW in its final conference regular season match. If Ohio State loses to IPFW, Lewis - who holds the tiebreaker with Ohio State - would have to win their final three conference matches to win the regular season title.
In their one previous match this season, Ohio State swept IPFW on Jan. 31 in Fort Wayne. The Mastodons (12-10, 3-3 MIVA) are in fourth place and entered this past weekend on a three-match losing streak in conference play before winning two matches against last-place Quincy University.
Ball State coach Joel Walton said prior to this weekend that he did not have a preference to either Ohio State or Lewis being the host of the conference tournament. The coach also said Ball State has a slight advantage with the tournament being in Columbus because it is closer to Muncie than Romeoville, Ill.
"Lewis' gym, Ohio State's gym, I think our team has played well in both facilities," Walton said.
If Ohio State is the host of the MIVA tournament, it would be the third consecutive season the Buckeyes have played host to the conference tournament. In the last two seasons, Ohio State has eliminated Ball State from the tournament, including a sweep in MIVA championship match last season.
Ball State (14-8, 5-4 MIVA) lost road matches to Lewis and Ohio State in five games in March - losing both matches by a combined five points.
The Cardinals have already clinched at least the No. 4 seed and a home match in the MIVA Tournament quarterfinals on April 24 or April 25. If Ball State wins its remaining MIVA match against IPFW on Saturday, it will clinch the No. 3 seed and most likely play Quincy in the quarterfinals at Worthen Arena.
As the No. 3 seed, Ball State would play the No. 2 seed in the semifinals if it won its quarterfinal match. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds receive byes in the conference tournament quarterfinals.
Walton said he is confident his team can beat any MIVA team at a neutral site.
"I think our team matches up well with both Ohio State and Lewis," Walton said. "There is not either one of those teams I fear."
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