With one of the most important weekends in deciding the Mid-American Conference champion lying ahead, Ball State has been presented with a simple situation.
Win twice, and the MAC regular season title is in hands of the Cardinals.
Lose even once, and the crown is up for grabs.
Ball State (22-3, 11-1 MAC) will play Western Michigan (21-5, 10-2) on Friday and Northern Illinois (21-5, 10-2) on Saturday, both starting at 7 p.m., in an attempt to officially secure the MAC Title.
But Ball State's MAC rivals certainly won't make earning the honor easy, proving that since the Cardinals beat both teams in consecutive matches between Sept. 30 - Oct. 1. Since then, all three teams may have become unfamiliar with losing, with only Ball State losing a match after Oct. 6.
Each team realizes what's at stake. For Ball State, failing to be named the regular season champion isn't acceptable.
"We're not going to settle for that," senior defensive specialist Kaylee Schembra said. "We don't want to be co-champions or anything similar to that. We want to be the only champions. I think people are starting to mentally get ready for that."
Western Michigan and Northern Illinois both hold such impressive records for a reason. Some of the most talented players in the MAC reside on the two teams, namely Northern Illinois sophomore Lauren Wicinski, who leads the nation in kills per game (5.50) and is fourth in the nation in aces per game (0.66). She also has 495 kills this season and 1,108 attack attempts on the year.
Wicinski, a six-foot-one outside hitter, showed off her all-around skill set in Northern Illinois 3-2 loss to Ball State on Sept. 30 this season, finishing with 25 kills and 19 digs.
"She's done a great job trying to improve upon the things that she needed to do to become an even better player than she was in her freshman year," Northern Illinois coach Ray Gooden said. "So it's been nice to see that improvement and development."
Defending a player with such elite talent like Wicinski will be the primary responsibility of Schembra and sophomore libero Catie Fredrich. The two back-court players have been one of the biggest reasons that Ball State leads in the MAC in opponent's hitting percentage with a low .170.
"Mentally, for me, I just think nothing hits the floor," Schembra said. "As a hitter, I think that would be very frustrating if you just keep swinging and swinging and you're not getting anything out of it."
Western Michigan has played with a much more balanced offensive attack this season, but it's excelled on defense. Sophomore libero Lena Oliver, the current MAC West Defensive Player of the Week, is the main reason for that, ranking fifth in the nation in digs per set with an average of 5.92.
No matter which team comes away as the MAC regular season champion and eventually which team in the conference wins the MAC Tournament, there may be further postseason opportunities for MAC teams heading into December.
With the 2011 MAC as competitive as it is, the thought of several teams earning at-large bids in the NCAA Tournament is beginning to become a legitimate possibility.
Gooden said he wouldn't be surprised if that exact case became a reality in the MAC.
"I think multiple teams have put themselves in a position to where, if you look at our bodies of work, I think it is fair to say that we're in line with some of the top teams in the country," he said. "I definitely feel like we've all made a strong case throughout the year."
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