With two conference wins each weekend becoming the norm for the Ball State women's volleyball team, the national panel of coaches is beginning to take more and more notice of the team's exceptional season.
That became more evident Monday afternoon with the release of the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll. With its latest two wins over Mid-American Conference opponents Toledo and Buffalo, Ball State (22-3, 11-1 MAC) received eight votes in the poll, improving on last week's total of three.
Last week was the first time since 1995 Ball State was able to garner any votes from the coaches. Now with two straight weeks listed on the poll, Ball State is already setting up the 2011 season to be mentioned among the best in the program's history.
Help in claiming more votes came from the teams also positioned near the bottom of the poll, with both Duke and Kansas State falling in at least one match over the weekend. Duke earned seven votes in the poll and Kansas State had nine.
Ball State's final road trip of the season this weekend could be the best chance for the team to catch the attention of the nation's coaches. By playing Western Michigan (21-5, 10-2) on Friday and Northern Illinois (21-5, 10-2) on Saturday, both at 7 p.m., Ball State can firmly separate itself from the rest of the pack in the MAC with two convincing wins.
While Ball State is the only MAC team mentioned in the coach's poll this week, Northern Illinois ranks well above it in the Relative Power Index standings, standing at 20 in Monday's release. The Cardinals fell back from 30 last week to 33 this week.
The women's volleyball RPI may reflect the two team's strength of schedules, but not the MAC standings. Ball State owns a one-match advantage over both Western Michigan and Northern Illinois with 11 conference wins. The other two teams carry 10.
With the Cardinals lined up to play both teams in less than three days, it will be more important than ever this season that every player on Ball State plays its best volleyball in order to win.
Nevertheless, it's still a growing process for the first-place team in the MAC.
"I think we know we still need improvement," senior defensive specialist Kaylee Schembra said. "Now's not the time to settle. We have a huge weekend coming up, so I think everyone realizes that we played okay, but we have a long way to go."
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