In order to win the No. 5 seed in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament, Ball State came through with step one on Friday.
Now fate will decide whether or not IPFW will complete the process tonight.
In a competitive 3-0 (26-24, 32-30, 25-19) win over Quincy on the road, sophomore setter Graham McIlvaine may have been the difference.
He started over sophomore Dan Wichmann for the first time in the past five matches and made good use of it, directing Ball State to a stellar offensive display.
The Cardinals hit .303 for the match, with McIlvaine (.833), sophomore middle attacker Matt Leske (.636) and junior outside attacker Jamion Hartley (.429) all finishing above the .400 mark.
Senior outside attacker Jeff Aucoin continued to stay on the court after starting two of the last three matches. He hit decently against Quincy, piling up six kills off 17 attacks for a .235 attack percentage.
Ball State's poor defense against IPFW last Saturday didn't carry over against Quincy. Seven blocks and 32 digs far outweighed Quincy's numbers.
The complete win wraps up Ball State's MIVA season with a 5-7 record. The Cardinals must hope for IPFW to lose to Loyola tonight in order for it to take back the fifth seed.
In order to better prepare for the upcoming tournament, Ball State will play at Lindenwood tonight at 7:00 p.m.