March Madness is no longer foreign to Worthen Arena.
In front of an announced crowd of 510 fans that seemed two times as large, Ball State upset No. 10 Ohio State in five sets (21-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 15-12) to snap an 11-match losing streak that dates back to 2008.
For every player on the roster, it was the biggest win of their careers.
Once junior Greg Herceg blasted the match-winning kill, bench players stormed the court to celebrate with their teammates. Fans erupted to their peak level of cheers in the match.
On the day after St. Patrick's Day, the biggest party of the weekend was inside Worthen Arena.
Naturally, rest may have been hard to come by Sunday night for the winning group of players.
"I probably won't be able to sleep for a little bit," junior outside attacker Larry Wrather said. "It's a really uplifting thing to have right now coming into this moment with a lot of conference play going on."
Junior setter Dan Wichmann, who has primarily played as a serving specialist this season, proved his worth in leading the team's offense.
In only his second start this season in relief of sophomore Graham McIlvaine, Wichmann finished with a team season-high of 60 assists at the setter position. He also orchestrated Ball State to a .268 attack percentage, the third highest mark for the Cardinals this year.
More impressively, it came against one of the best teams in the nation and a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association opponent.
"He came in and had a huge game for us," sophomore middle attacker Matt Leske said of Wichmann. "He stayed composed the whole game and gave us middles great balls to hit."
Coach Joel Walton came away pleased with Wichmann's control over the offense.
"Especially tonight, he was our best match-up," Walton said. "There may still be matches later in the year where Graham gives us a different look, but I'm pleased with the job Dan Wichmann did tonight."
For now, using the lineup that includes Wichmann and freshman outside attacker Matt Sutherland, who started his first career match on Sunday, is Walton's plan moving forward.
The starting group played with cohesiveness and consistency, pushing players like Leske, Kevin Owens and Herceg to career-highs and one of the best matches of their careers.
"I'd probably be fired if I didn't keep that group going," Walton said, laughing. "They've got a chance now to go out and continue to prove that they're our best team. We're going to continue to develop the other guys in reserve roles."
With an overall record of 12-7 and more importantly a MIVA record of 4-4, Ball State could become a wild card for the conference tournament after such a shocking upset.
Fans won't have to wait long to see if the Cardinals can do it again. They'll travel to play Loyola on Tuesday, giving the team only one day of rest after a fatiguing 5-set match.
Only the top-4 seeds in the conference play at home in the tournament. Even though this was Ball State's final home match of the regular season, Wrather said he expects the team to return to Worthen Arena in late April.
"I really expect to come back and play in front of a great crowd like we had tonight," he said.
For more coverage on the men's volleyball team, follow @andrewmishler on Twitter.
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