Every time Ball State finally sees the light at the end of the tunnel, a frustrating performance forces a setback.
Ball State was riding five straight wins after a disappointing start to the season, but the Cardinals watched all its progress disappear this weekend in two losses to Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan.
"We're kind of like sitting in a corner right now, bashing our heads against the wall letting the same things happen over and over," senior outside hitter Kara Bates said after the four-set loss to Eastern Michigan.
What keeps happening to Ball State is an inability to make plays in close sets and matches. Sometimes Ball State starts sluggish and has to play catch-up; other times it struggles to close out sets with the lead.
Against Eastern Michigan, Ball State lost in overtime in the fourth set despite being better statistically across the board for the match. The Cardinals fell behind in the final set early but staged a late comeback to tie the match at 19 and later again at 24.
But Eastern Michigan rallied for the final two points to close the match and send Ball State to its fourth straight loss and a 2-4 MAC record overall.
Coach Steve Shondell had no answers for why exactly Ball State couldn't pull out the win against Eastern Michigan.
"It's tough to look at all the statistics and see that you won but find yourself short on the scoreboard," Shondell said. "They made the plays when they had to make them, and we didn't."
Ball State hit .297 with 74 digs and five blocks in the match, each being higher than Eastern Michigan's final numbers.
The defeats and the disappointment are starting to pile up for the Cardinals, who have been hurt by mistakes at the end of the last two matches.
Junior libero Catie Fredrich said the situation that Ball State is in this season is new to her.
"Losing is really contagious," Fredrich said. "Ever since I've got here, we've always won conference, been to the tournament [and] had great records. I've never really been in this situation."
Fredrich said it's about finding the mental toughness and a killer instinct when the team needs points. She added it would have to come from others off the bench if those on the court can't get the job done.
"We just need to find those players that want to be on the court, want to be out there and want to win," Fredrich said.
Senior middle blocker Lisa Scott had her best match as a Cardinal hitting .562 with a career-high 18 kills.
Shondell said it just takes Ball State to pull out one of these close matches to get the team's confidence back up.
"I felt we played well enough both nights to win both matches," he said. "We came up short on the scoreboard."
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