Storm clouds may be gathering over the Mid-American Conference's volleyball landscape, but the sun is shining brightly over Ball State University's youthful, but experienced, team.
After weathering the storm the last two seasons, coach Dave Boos feels the time is now to become a factor in the championship picture.
"We return our entire lineup from last year and have another year of knowledge and chemistry behind us," Boos said. "We should see the dividends of that as we continue our evolution."
The evolution took another step last season despite the Cardinals' 12-21 record. The team was near the top of the conference in digs and its hitting percentage rose 100 points to climb into the middle of the conference.
"There were a lot of struggles we went through last year," sophomore setter Brittany McGinnis said, who had one of the best single seasons as a setter in program history as a freshman. "That's how we improved as a team. We had so much to learn together."
Boos said there are plenty of unknowns going into this season, however. The entire lineup may be returning, but Boos has a plethora of options along the front lines.
"We have a lot of talented middle blockers and five front line players who can reach 10 feet or higher," Boos said. "That's going to allow us to be much more physical this year. We want to be fast paced, but physical at the same time to challenge opponents."
Boos said his team is in a better position going into the season than the past two because it has more experienced players and a senior class to help lead the way throughout the season.
"It's exciting knowing how good we are and how good we're going to be as the season progresses," senior Julie Breivogel said. "I have a lot of confidence in the team and wouldn't want to be with any other girls."
It will take a potent offense to overcome a difficult schedule placed in front of the Cardinals. This year's is riddled with some of the most successful volleyball programs in the region. Purdue University will be the first of these opponents Ball State will face, as they meet for Ball State's first regular season match Aug. 28, followed by the University of Dayton the following afternoon. Then the University of Louisville will travel to Muncie on Sept. 5. All three teams are projected to be ranked in the preseason coaches poll.
"The schedule was definitely by design," Boos said. "We want to be challenged and to see what we need to work on before seeing Western Michigan [University]. We need to be ready for the MAC. Maybe we can catch someone early enough while we're all figuring out our lineups that we can knock one of these top 25 teams off."
After that trio of head hunters, the Cardinals have to face familiar MAC foes Western Michigan University and Ohio University. Western Michigan was one of three MAC teams to make the NCAA Tournament last season, one of the highest number of teams the MAC has ever had qualify.
"This is the best the MAC has ever been in volleyball," Boos said. "Western Michigan was a Sweet 16 team and they return every starter. Ohio returns every player and the MAC Player of the Year, so it's an exciting time to be in the MAC."
While beating everyone is always a goal, Breivogel had three teams she is really hoping to defeat during her senior season. Those teams, however, are not necessarily the three teams that are projected to be the biggest challenges for the Cardinals.
"I want to beat Purdue. They're a Big 10 school and that would be huge for our program," Breivogel said. "It'd be great to beat Bowling Green [State University] since I haven't beaten them in my time and they're a rival. I also want to beat Ohio."
McGinnis said one point of emphasis will be finishing matches strongly, especially in five set matches. The Cardinals lost seven times in five set matches last season and that is something that McGinnis said bothers her and the entire team.
"We really want to beat those teams who took five set matches from us last year," McGinnis said. "We still have the fire in us over that and we'll throw everything we've got at them, leaving it all on the court."
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