It's obviously not the marquee sport of the fall season. SportsCenter's top plays aren't riddled with kills and digs. Students usually don't raise a ruckus over the team's successes or woes.
But coach Dave Boos' rag-tag group of seasoned veterans on the women's volleyball team has played its way to the best record of any Ball State University fall sport. They need - and deserve - our support this weekend when they take on their first two Mid-American Conference opponents this season.
The Cardinals enter tonight's conference opener with a 7-6 record - the first time it has entered MAC play with a winning record in four years. In addition, this weekend Ball State will play two of the top teams in the conference: Northern Illinois University and Western Michigan University.
Welcome back to relevant Ball State women's volleyball matches, Muncie. It's been a while, but they have finally returned.
In his third season at Ball State, Boos has received his fair share of criticism. Everything from replacing a fired Hall of Fame caliber coach in Randy Litchfield, setting a program record for most single-season losses in his first year and his overwhelmingly cool demeanor on the sidelines during matches will do that to a coach - especially in a volleyball-crazed town like Muncie. Regardless of your personal thoughts on Boos, though, one thing is clear: his coaching staff and he has turned this program around.
And for the fans who have stopped caring about Ball State women's volleyball, the time to return to those Worthen Arena seats is now.
The last time Ball State entered the conference season with a winning record it finished the season 21-10. While the 20-win milestone might be difficult for this year's team to achieve, don't be surprised if this year's record resembles more of a 20-win team than last year's 12-21 mark.
The Cardinals are led by senior middle blocker Alisha Green who leads the team in kills. She was the most valuable player at the Indiana State University Classic and on the all-tournament team at the Active Ankle Challenge.
Junior outside attacker Charde' Phillips is third on the team in blocks and kills and is second on the team in kills per set. She was on the all-tournament teams at the ISU Classic, Active Ankle Challenge and Towson Invitational. She also was the MAC West offensive player of the week earlier this season.
Northern Illinois enters Friday's match with an identical 7-6 record and has always had competitive matches against Ball State. The Cardinals take on the Broncos of Western Michigan (8-7) on Saturday. The Broncos were picked to repeat as MAC regular season and tournament champions in the preseason MAC coaches poll. Excluding a humiliating five-set loss to IPFW, Western Michigan has at times been flawless this season defeating Indiana University and the University of Cincinnati in the last 10 days.
A win against Western Michigan will be difficult. However, a larger crowd can only help Ball State's effort at getting a statement win early in conference play.
For the last few seasons, volleyball season has not officially started for Ball State fans until January with the men's volleyball team. It's now time for all those thousands of men's volleyball fans who come out for every big Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association matches to come out to Worthen Arena this weekend to support the women's volleyball team.
They have two tough opponents coming to campus this weekend, and the students and alumni should show them that Ball State supports them. These first two matches could set the tone for the rest of the conference season. The Cardinals have earned our attention and could use our presence at their matches.
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