Kills were the name of the game for the Lady Bearcats, as the team scored 57 kills across their five sets. Twenty-five of them came from junior Kendall Kahle and 16 from sophomore Alacia Johnson-41 in total by the duo alone.

With this win, it marks the team's first win over Daleville since the 2020 season. Kahle believes after the losing streak to this foe, the win feels extra special.

"We worked really hard for this," Kahle said. "I know it's been a couple years since we beat Daleville, so it's a really good win tonight."

The duo's high kill count reveals the value and trust these two ladies bring to the team. Johnson highlights after some of the struggles from past seasons, the team is starting to take shape.

"I think it feels good because last year, we kind of had some setbacks," Johnson said, "and this year, we are building our team-building a whole new team."

Johnson adds that after this big win, she believes the Lady Bearcats will do good things throughout the season.

The next match for the Lady Bearcats will be back home at Muncie Central High School, as they face the Delta Lady Eagles on Sept. 23 at 7:00 p.m.

This story was produced by students in Ball State University's School of Journalism and Strategic Communication, in collaboration with Unified Media and the Muncie Sports Commission.

In weeks one and two, Ball State combined for 271 total yards. Against New Hampshire, the team totaled 413 total yards, with 308 coming from rushing.

In last week's post-game press conference, junior running back Qua Ashley had confidence in the team's offensive performance.

"It shows that we can do it," Ashley said. "Now that we know what the outcome [can] be, we'll do it every week from here on out."

Coming off Ball State football's first win of their 2025-26 campaign against New Hampshire, the Cardinals face another road test on Sept. 20. Ball State will play another East Coast team, the University of Connecticut (UConn), in week four of the season.

This will be the Cardinals' third road game in just four games, with the two previous road games resulting in big losses for Ball State. Even though getting the first win of the season sets the tone for the rest of the season for the Cardinals, Uremovich still wants the team to focus on the same things, win or loss.

"We have to analyze what we did good, what we did poorly, and how we can fix it," Uremovich said. "I know they approached the meetings that way, and I know our staff did, and we're more critical of ourselves every week because we should be getting better and better."

All of Ball State's early-season road tests have allowed the Cardinals' coaches to see how the team responds in hostile environments. Purdue and Auburn offered Big Ten and Southeastern Conference (SEC) road environments, while their week four contest with UConn will be a more comparable environment to Mid-American Conference (MAC) schools.

This is Ball State's last game before beginning MAC play against Ohio on Oct. 4, and Uremovich is looking to see how the team performs in their final non-conference game.

"I want to see us go and play well on the road," Uremovich said. "It's another opportunity to go on the road in a different environment and play against a really good football team."

UConn, which is one of two independent teams without a conference alongside Notre Dame, has the same record as Ball State of 1-2. The Huskies pose a big threat at quarterback, with senior Joe Fagnano possessing some of the better statistics in college football.

The Huskies are coming off their best season in the past ten years, in which they went 9-4 and won the Fenway Bowl against North Carolina. Including Fagnano, UConn was able to get key players to return from last season.

Uremovich talked about how UConn is only a couple of plays away from being undefeated, with their losses against Delaware and Syracuse coming in overtime.

Ball State's biggest strength will clash against UConn's biggest strength, with the Cardinals having success getting to the quarterback and the Huskies having success preventing sacks with their offensive line.

Through three games, Ball State has recorded 11 sacks, which leads the MAC and ranks fourth nationally, according to Ball State Athletics. On the other hand, UConn has only allowed Fagnano to be sacked three times all season.

One of the big reasons why Ball State's front seven has been able to get into the backfield and reach the quarterback has been because of senior transfer defensive end Nathan Voorhis. Voorhis leads the team in sacks with 4.5, and transferred in from UConn, where he played in 2022 and 2023.

There is a certain importance when a player plays the team that they previously played for, and Voorhis said that while it means a lot to him to be able to go back, he is still focused on one goal: winning.

"I was committed there [during] my junior year of high school. That's where I wanted to go, [it was] my first offer," Voorhis said. "So obviously, I'm close with all those guys up there [and] close with the coaches, but I mean, I haven't been there for a year and a half, so obviously a lot of things have changed over there. I'm ready to play. It's another game for me, I got nine guaranteed left in my football career."

Voorhis said that he has been thinking about the game all season, but that he is taking no different steps for preparation.

Senior linebacker Alfred Chea is another Cardinal who transferred from UConn. Chea transferred with Voorhis and has even more knowledge about UConn, where he spent the first four years of his career.

Chea said that because of his closeness with players and coaches at UConn, and being in their scheme for four years, he has the ability to give the Cardinals a potential upper hand in week four.

"I think I know some keys," Chea said. "Some keys that show up on film that I already recognize or some things that some players I know [like to do or] that it may or may not be their go-to guys or what they like to do in certain situations."

Both teams are hunting to get back to .500. For Ball State, being at 2-2 heading into conference play would set them up in a very good spot to keep competing for a bowl appearance. For UConn, it is their first contest against a MAC team before they play Buffalo in week five.

Even though it is an early-season non-conference game, the stakes remain high and Voorhis knows the week four matchup will be a battle.

"I know they lost the last two in a row, so they don't want to lose another one at home," Voorhis said. "I'm prepared for a dog fight."

Sports reporter Elijah Poe contributed to this article.

Contact Kyle Stout with questions via email @kyle.stout@bsu.edu or on X @kylestoutdailyn

In a four-set match against Eastbrook, Cowan fell 3-1 to their non-conference opponent.

Cowan fell behind by multiple points early in set one but stormed back to take control and win the opening set. Eastbrook responded accordingly, as they won the second and third sets by ten-plus points, and the fourth set 27-25.

Even with a strong start in the opening set, Cowan struggled to piece anything together in the following sets. Blackhawks head coach Amber Huber said that a common theme of the season is hurting them in the latter sets of matches.

"We have gotten in this pattern of being content with winning the first set, and kind of just letting up," Huber said. "[We] think that just because we won the first set, the other teams are just going to lay down."

Despite the loss to Eastbrook, Cowan has won five of their last nine games and has held a 3-1 conference record. Huber has seen the team make strides over the past couple weeks, and she has seen those efforts play out right in front of her eyes.

"When we go out and play and get off to a good start and are talking to each other, we're a completely different team," Huber said. "[The team has] probably the most team chemistry we've had, but we're young."

Cowan will look to bounce back on Sept. 22, when they will host Eastern Hancock, who sits right above them in the Mid-Eastern conference standings.

Contact Kyle Stout with questions via email @kyle.stout@bsu.edu or on X @kylestoutdailyn

This story was produced by students in Ball State University's School of Journalism and Strategic Communication, in collaboration with Unified Media and the Muncie Sports Commission.

The duo was on the fourth hole of their playoff, waiting for the other to flinch. One shot shanking to the right or a putt lipping out of the cup was all that stood between either golfer and victory at the Brittany Kelly Classic.

The tension was palpable, but it didn't feel as though it was fully concentrated on the leaderboard. That's due in part by the fact that it wasn't. The Brittany Kelly Classic is more than just a collegiate golf tournament. Instead, it's an opportunity to remember a record breaker who paved the way for the modern players in Ball State's women's golf program.

A standout in her time at Ball State, Brittany Kelly broke just about every record possible. She posted the single-season scoring average, the career scoring average, and the 54-hole tournament score en route to being named the MVP for the team three years in a row. Kelly was also the first Ball State player ever selected to an NCAA Regional tournament, something that only two others have done since.

Even today, with records being broken left and right by the likes of Jasmine Driscoll, Sarah Gallagher and JJ Gregston, Kelly's records still stand alongside them.

In 2019, however, an ovarian cancer diagnosis would change Kelly's life. Despite fighting as hard as she could, Kelly would unfortunately lose her battle on Aug. 31, 2021, days before being inducted into the Ball State Hall of Fame.

Now, four years on from her passing, Kelly is remembered for more than just the numbers that she posted, with this tournament serving as one of the main reminders of who she was, according to Ball State women's golf Head Coach Cameron Andry.

"There's a whole other element to it for us, which is honoring one of our all-time great players who lost her battle to cancer way too young," said Andry.

Beyond just remembering, it helps honor the legacy that Kelly set beyond just the records she broke and, as Andry puts it, "honors the way that she lived, the way she not only played golf but battled cancer. That's what we are really trying to do."

On that fourth hole of the playoff, Gallagher got the chance to etch her name even closer to Kelly. The pair sit in third and fourth, respectively, on the career average record, with Gallagher's 76.27 just barely displacing Kelly's 76.46. Now, the two sit even closer, as Gallagher would bury her birdie putt to claim the individual tournament title, something she believes helps to honor Kelly.

"I think it's just really important to honor her legacy and the best way to do that is to win the tournament named after her," Gallagher said. Now, even though Kelly is gone, the new era of record breakers can stand close to a legend who paved the way for them.

Contact Jake Dickman with comments at jacob.dickman@bsu.edu.

Located in AR 217, the students have been hard at work preparing since the beginning of the semester. However, some students have been at work long before that.

"I was reading the script over the summer," said Eli Chriss.

Chriss is a senior and is in the short play Action, which is student-directed by Rylee Duncan. Duncan is a junior at Ball State and has been playing around with different show ideas since last semester.

"I was going between three different shows, but this one stood out to me because of how absurd it is," she said.

Action isn't the only short play you can see this weekend. You can also see In Shakespeare and the Bible, which is student-directed by Ryan Goldberg, and Terminating, which is student-directed by Jeremiah Combs.

"It's really awesome to see student-directed pieces. It's such a collaborative process and we all get to learn together," said senior Marissa Drew.

Both the cast and crew appreciate the fact that everything is student-led. This allows great opportunities for those in theatre directing majors, and leaves room for improvement.

When asked about what he had learned, Chriss said, "Sometimes you have to pivot, but that can be a wonderful thing and it can still turn out great."

Don't miss your chance to see the creativity of Ball State students this weekend. Tickets are available at the box office, online, or by phone.

Contact Addison Hampshire with comments at addison.hampshire@bsu.edu

The Statehouse had three stories packed with people who were protesting the possible redistricting that may be taking place in Indiana.

According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, redistricting is a process that occurs every 10 years, following the completion of the census. At this time, the lines are redrawn to reflect the representation of each district, such as Republican or Democratic.

Gerrymandering is when redistricting is done early or to favor one party more than the other.

Indiana has been controlled by the Republican Party for the last 20 years, according to a Sept. 15 Instagram post from MADVoters.

"As the majority party, Republicans control all committees and which bills get considered, and they can overrule a governor's veto," according to the post.

This gives the Democrats little to no say in the legislature.

According to a Sept. 2 MADVoters Instagram post, the new map of Indiana "divides many large cities in an attempt to dilute traditional Democrat voters, like people of color and young voters."

Former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg called a rally to protest the gerrymandering at the Indiana Statehouse via a Sept. 17 X post.

"Don't miss this chance to hear from Pete and our lawmakers on why any attempts to redraw the maps is just an attempt to silence your voices," the post reads. "Hoosiers don't want these DC power grabs. No new maps."

According to a Sept. 18 article from Indiana Capital Chronicle (ICC), during the protest, Buttigieg said Washington D.C. Republicans are pressuring Indiana Republicans to "do something that they know in their hearts is wrong."

"They are being pressured to change the rules so that voters don't have a say anymore … and we know why they're doing it, which is because the agenda of Washington Republicans is so unpopular that even here in Indiana, they are afraid of losing," he said.

Several concerned Hoosiers gathered to protest this by letting their opinions be heard by politicians at the Statehouse.

One of the protesters was George Sullivan-Davis, who attended because he is against President Donald Trump's interference with state elections.

"If the president of the United States succeeds in keeping Democrats from being elected to the majority of the House, then he will have a full authoritarian breakthrough," he said.

If he could, Davis said he would tell Trump to "keep his hands off" Indiana politics. He also wishes Indiana Gov. Mike Braun would stop "kowtowing" to Trump and represent the state instead.

Another protester, Ann Delaney, attended because she is also outraged about the attempt to steal the two Democratic seats.

She wants younger people to care because budgets are also being cut, forcing schools to slash their curricula.

"It's the college student's future that's at risk, not mine," Delaney said.

A Muncie local also in attendance was Jackson Franklin, who is currently running for Congress in District 5 in 2026.

He came to protest the gerrymandering and "blatant rigging," and to hear what Buttigieg had to say.

Franklin said he wants maps that are "fair".

Being young himself at 25-years-old, he wants younger people to know that the concern over the redistricting is important because it's "our future" and "our democracy".

"If you don't care about politics, politics won't care about you," he said.

Franklin also noted a change in the government and how the new map "cuts Muncie down the middle." Despite this, Franklin said he wants to remind people where the power really is.

"The people's power is greater than the people in power," he said.

According to a Sept. 16 ICC article, Gov. Mike Braun said Monday that lawmakers could return for a special session in November to "redraw congressional boundaries."

Contact Shelby Anderson via email at sanderson9@bsu.edu

Crispen said he grew up in Akron, Ind., where there was a lack of resources to help kids like him. He describes it as frustrating to be unable to do things for himself or others while growing up.

"Being too young and being in a very rural area, that just wasn't very possible for me," Crispen said.

He had already decided he wanted to join the SGA during the summer, because of his major in Law. Crispen says that once he became more active on campus, he saw what he needed to do.

"It became clear to me that it was not just something I wanted to do, but something that had to be done, so this reform could happen," Crispen said.

In the SGA meeting, Crispen mentioned that stairs have strips called "Nosings," reflective pieces on each step, that help visually impaired people see where each step is. Problems occur when these strips are missing or worn down.

"You'll notice, if you look a little closer, that not all buildings have those; even some of the highly trafficked buildings don't have them," Crispen explained.

When asked why Ball State might not have addressed these issues, Crispen suggested it might be because they haven't been informed. He believes the university may simply be unaware of these problems.

"Maybe some of the reasons that these things have not been implemented yet are that there has not been a student, or maybe, of course, that's speculative, but maybe an administrative voice telling people that these things are necessary for students to be truly safe on campus," Crispen explained.

Crispen also discussed his legislative plan, which is currently in "Phase Zero." He said he is working on gathering everything and preparing to put it into official form, but has not reached that stage yet, hence the name. He also encourages students and others to contact him regarding accessibility issues, as this is one of the main ways to report problems on campus.

"I can't promise that these specific things will be implemented. I can promise that if an accessibility issue is noticed by me or any of my constituents here now, it will be addressed."

Contact Landon Jones with comments at landon.jones@bsu.edu.

Grant Writing Workshop for Students

Join the Sponsored Projects Administration and The Writing Center for a hands-on workshop on Thursday, September 18 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. If you struggle with communicating all of the great work you have done, this is the space for you. Using Ball State's Aspire internal grants application, attendees can expect to learn from professionals. All students that are interested are encouraged to attend, no RSVP necessary!

New Features Added to the Starship App

Great news! University Dining accepts mobile orders through the Starship app! Enjoy the same menu options available for Starship robot deliveries, and the best - you can use your meal plan to pay for both mobile orders and regular robot deliveries!

Scholarships for STEM Students!

Looking for scholarships to fund your undergraduate or graduate studies? The Office of Nationally Competitive Scholarships will be offering information sessions on STEM scholarships. The first session will take place Monday, September at 5:00 p.m. and the second being on Tuesday, September 30 at 5:30 p.m. Millions of dollars in scholarships are awarded to STEM students every year!

For more information, go toBall State's Communication Center.

Both teams showed up ready to compete. The tug-of-war was consistent throughout the game, leaving both teams with 10 fouls. Although the field switched often, the Chippewas had six offsides while the Cardinals had eight.

Senior forward Delaney Caldwell set the tone of the game for the Cardinals by putting the first score on the board in the eighth minute. Senior midfielder Addie Chester played into the point with the assist.

Coming back into the second half, Ball State started to fall back on the defensive side, giving Central Michigan more opportunities.

"We definitely need to work on starting each half with as much energy as possible," Caldwell said, "especially the first five minutes."

The Cardinals corrected their mistakes after Central Michigan junior midfielder Melaina Troy tied the game in the 60 minute with an assist from sophomore forward Ella Betzold.

A foul in the box on redshirt junior defender Delaney Ahearn resulted in a penalty kick for the Chippewas in the 78 minute of the game. Under pressure to be in the lead, Troy took the shot and missed, giving a sigh of relief to Roper.

"I felt horrible," Roper said, "but I was confident in Abby (graduate student goalkeeper)."

Ball State more than doubled Central Michigan's shots, but was unable to capitalize on the opportunities leaving ones on the scoreboard.

As the Cardinals continue to train in preparation for their game Sept. 21 against Kent State University, they focus on building each athlete's drive to be successful as a team.

"Ultimately, in sports and in life, you just have to keep going," head coach Andy Stoots said. "For us to be as good as we can be as a team, we have to maximize who each of them are as competitors."

Contact Meghan Sawitzke via email at meghan.sawitzke@bsu.edu.

Tonight: Cool temperatures of 59 degrees come our way tonight. We are seeing clear skies and calm winds, overall a beautiful night to be outside.

Tomorrow: Throughout the day tomorrow we see a sunny skies and temperatures warm from 59 degrees up to 90 degrees. Calm winds throughout the day help us to cool down temperatures tomorrow night.

Seven-Day Forecast: Over the next week we are seeing warm temperatures throughout the weekend. Sunday we see a high of 86 degrees and our first chance of rainfall. Early Monday morning we see heavy rain showers moving through the Muncie area. We see more chances of rainfall heading into the beginning of next week. We see these rain showers do help us cool down our temperatures to 74 degrees on Thursday and help relieve our drought conditions.

-Weather Forecaster Sydney Baugh

Follow us on X @NLIWeather for breaking weather updates.

NewsLink Indiana is a proud Ambassador for the NOAA Weather-Ready Nation program.

For more information about the Weather-Ready Nation program please click HERE

The two teams have faced off a total of 16 times and today's match was their first time meeting since 2019.

The Cardinals were able to get it to five sets but couldn't pull it out as they lost 3-2 (25-18, 13-25, 25-17, 27-29, 15-10).

With Ball State's loss, the all-time record is now led by Cincinnati with a record of 9-7.

After every Ball State point, the fans erupted, something the Cardinals had not had this year up until today.

"The environment was great being home. I love Worthen and I love playing in front of our fans," said head coach Kelli Miller Phillips, "The kids were awesome the whole time."

Ball State seemed to have all the momentum midway through set one. Although the score was only 11-10, the Cardinals already had two service aces and looked productive on offense.

The Cardinals then went on a 10-4 run at the end of the first set to win it 25-18. Junior middle hitter Gwen Crull led the Cardinals with six kills and a .500 hitting percentage in set one.

"When we're all bought in together and we play as a team out there instead of six individuals, I think we're pretty unstoppable so just finding a way to do that," said sophomore outside hitter Carson Tyler.

The Cardinals could not get the momentum they had in set one, as they trailed 14-8 in the second before dropping the set 25-13. The score was leveled at one set apiece.

Coming out in set three, the Cardinals were tied up at 6-6. Four of the Cardinals' six points up to that point were kills, something that has shown to be their strong suit so far. Ball State then went on a quick 4-1 scoring run to stretch the lead out to 10-7 before Cincinnati called their first timeout of the half, and second of the game.

At that point in the second set, the Cardinals already had 10 kills, which was their total amount for their previous set.

"One of the things we've been talking about is our inconsistency," said Phillips. "That's a perfect example, from one set to the next set, [with] no specific thing we can put our finger on. We've just been super dramatic in the stat line, our passing across the board, and that's one area we got to find a way to level out."

Ball State was able to close out the third set with a 5-0 scoring run, winning 25-17 and taking the lead two sets to one.

Cincinnati had the early advantage in set four thanks to their serving, but the Cardinals were hanging on, only trailing 11-7. The service advantage was showing for the two teams as the momentum went to whoever was serving, but the Cardinals were still hanging on throughout the set.

With a pair of kills and aces, Ball State looked to be back within three, but a failed challenge kept them down four.

The Cardinals' defense ramped up in the back half of set four as they reeled Cincinnati in, and only trailed 22-20. A failed attack from Cincinnati put Ball State right back in it at 22, all before a service ace by sophomore defensive specialist and libero Elizabeth Tabeling put the Cardinals up 23-22.

Cincinnati went on a two-point run, but Ball State tied it back up at 24-24, then 25-25, before the teams were still knotted up, but this time at 27 apiece. Cincinnati was able to pull it out and win the set 29-27.

"[We have to] just stay disciplined and control our side instead of worrying about what's going on [with] the other side. Just control our side and support it for one another," said Tyler.

Early in the fifth set, Cincinnati had the advantage, leading 10-6. Right after that, the Cardinals went on a 2-0 run, bringing the score to 10-8.

Cincinnati then went on a 3-point run to get to match point before closing it out and beating Ball State 15-10 in set five, and 3-2 overall.

After a tough loss, Ball State gets right back into action at Worthen, as they play Purdue on Friday and Eastern Kentucky on Saturday. Phillips explained that consistency is the key to get back on track for this home game stretch.

"We've got to be consistent; you got to be consistent in serve and pass. We missed another serve in set five and you just can't do that."

Contact Rylan Crum with questions via email @rylan.crum@bsu.edu or on X @RylanCrum

Organized by Emma Seiple, a first-year legal studies student at the university, the first-annual competition consisted of two portions: an introduction and an interview.

"My friends and I talked about doing this for a long time, since the meme surfaced," Seiple said. "One day, I was like, 'Let's just go for it."

Advertised through various forms of social media, Seiple said she could never have guessed the large turnout.

"We were expecting maybe 10 people to show up," Seiple said.

The University Green Lawn was filled with spectators and participants alike. Most said students heard about the contest from the university's class of 2029 Snapchat story, deciding to attend and participate.

"I find the performative male trend funny, and I also think it has benefits," said first-year general biology student, Ally Telesky. "I feel like people aren't afraid to talk about periods anymore, which is really cool, and it's also something to do around campus and meet people."

First-year college of architecture and planning student, Austin Kirkman, said he decided to participate because of peer influence.

"Some of the people on my [dorm] floor thought I had some of the characteristics [of male performatory] and thought I could win," Kirkman said.

Kirkman, who was voted first place in the contest, celebrated by holding up his sign that read "Fuck periods."

"I just hate periods and I love women so much," he said.

Contact Madelyn Bracken via email at madelyn.bracken@bsu.edu.

"To be honest, I'd just like to thank my defense. They have really upped the game that they have from last year to this year, with the addition of our sophomore center-back, and it's just made my job a whole lot easier," said senior goalkeeper Elijah Bell, following his fifth straight clean sheet posted in Delta's 4-0 victory over rival Yorktown on Monday evening.

Bell has only given up four goals this season, a vast improvement from the 27 he allowed in his first full season as a starter last year. He credits significant improvement on the Eagles' backline for his personal success, as well as the defensive efficiency overall. Delta's offense is just as efficient-if not better.

Led by senior forward Maddox Huffman, who broke the school record for single-season goals in 2024, the Eagles have tallied 52 goals in their first ten contests-37 of which were assisted. However, when it comes to goals, only one is left on Huffman's mind.

"I just want to win a sectional. If that means everyone scoring, or however it happens, I'll take it," remarked Huffman, who scored the Eagles' lone goal in last season's sectional semi-final defeat to eventual sectional champion Jay County.

The shift to a full team effort has been crucial for Delta's offense, whose balanced approach has provided the team with five or more goals in six different games this season.

"When our team moves the ball, and we're unselfish, good things happen for us, and that's been a big part of our success this season," added Head Coach Tony Pierce, who has put an emphasis on passing the ball. "I don't care who scores the goals, we're going to score goals as a team, and I think we're fairly balanced this year."

The road will only get tougher for Delta as they round out conference play against Pendleton Heights and New Palestine on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Next week, the Eagles will also face Muncie Burris, who was ranked 7th in the state in Class 1A in the latest coaches' poll.

"The games get tougher. We're into the heart of the conference season right now," mentioned Pierce, "We are aware of the winning streak. It's the best start in school history. It's something we're incredibly proud of, and we want to continue that."

Contact Jayden Collins with comments at jayden.collins@bsu.edu.

The Tigers came out strong in the opening set, building an early lead with aggressive attacks at the net. Senior outside hitter Mia Trammel delivered a series of key spikes to keep momentum on the Tigers' side, while steady defense extended rallies. Despite a late push from the Trojans, Tigers closed out the set 25-18.

The second set proved to be the most competitive, with the score tied several times early. New Castle briefly held the lead, but Yorktown's front line, led by Liv Jones and Kendall Rowray, came up with timely blocks and saves. With the score tied at 18-18, the Tigers surged ahead and finished strong, winning 25-20.

"I thought our timing was good, pressing was good, and I was pleased with our feet and how we finished the blocks," said Tigers head coach Stephanie Bloom.

In the third set, the Tigers jumped to a 10-1 lead and never looked back. New Castle struggled against Yorktown's balance of sharp serves and aggressive swings at the net, earning the Tigers the victory, 25-10.

"I thought we finished well in the 3rd set, came out sharp and didn't have a lot of unforced errors which was our focus," said Bloom."I thought our serve and pass game was good and our talk got a lot better."

The Tigers next match will be against the Providence pioneers at home, Sept. 20.

Today: The high heat continues for Muncie. It will be 89 degrees with light to no wind. It should be a great day for the outdoors but make sure to have plenty of water with the dry air.

Tonight: The low will be 56 degrees with little to no wind. The temperature will decline sharply. It should be a perfect evening to open the windows and relax from the heat.

Tomorrow: Make sure to not dress too warm in the morning. It will be another hot day with clear skies. The sun will be intense with little relief. Dry air should make the shade somewhat comfortable.

Seven-Day Forecast: The heat and sun of this week will fade this weekend. Expect to see clouds and rain roll in for the next week. Monday will see the highest chance of rain, hopefully beginning to ease our drought conditions.

-Weather Forecaster Edward Hill

Follow us on X @NLIWeather for breaking weather updates.

NewsLink Indiana is a proud Ambassador for the NOAA Weather-Ready Nation program.

For more information about the Weather-Ready Nation program please click HERE

The board of the company announced on Thursday that she had been unanimously approved for the company's next CEO and board chair as well.

"This was what Charlie hoped for and wanted and he said so numerous times," according to an X post from the company's chief operating officer, Tyler Bowyer, provided by AP.

Contact the Daily News via email at editor@bsudailynews.com.

"We are able to provide housing for a population that's wanting to become a home owner that doesn't like all the headaches that come with a lot of renovations and stuff. We take care of all that ahead of time.We do renovations through sustainable practices, looking at energy efficiency," said Jason Haney, CEO of Eco Rehab.

Additionally, Eco Rehab has partnered with the Professors of Architecture Tom Collins and Pam Harwood, along with their architecture students to look at ways to do panelization. This collaboration will also let students get experience designing houses that will actually be built in Muncie.

"We developed a great opportunity to learn how to build panelized walls. We learned a lot how to basically do it correctly and things that we have learned we are gonna be sharing with the public through this merchandising mark, that were building now," said Pam Harwood, Professor of CAP at Ball State University.

The elective architecture class called "Hands on Timber" has been exciting for students and taught them to persevere through all struggles.

"The biggest struggle has also been the best learning opportunity and that is to find, to learn about the specific ways that things go together, which is basically architecture in a nutshell. But to be able to do it hands on and to see like you may have just witnessed with the specific conversations about specific elements and finding out how those things fit together is really important and its been challenging but really interesting to learn," said Logan Heller, CAP Student at Ball State University.

The Ball State students have been working hard at the Yard frequently and although the program is relatively new, a lot of progress has been made.

"So it's really been fascinating to watch this develop, where we will have Ball State students actually working on designing homes that are going to be built here in the community and coming up with the drawings and renderings and processes to make this happen and then our students will take it from there and actually construct those homes so it's really been an exciting process," said Jason Haney, CEO of Eco Rehab.

Contact Stella Davis with comments at estella.davis@bsu.edu.

The Circle of Support is a small group where seniors come together to share life experiences and learn coping skills for struggles such as depression and grief. Ashley Snidera, who founded the group and is also a social worker at the Muncie Police Department, realized the generation needed a connection.

"Working in the community with older adults and all of them having the same conversation with me about feeling depressed," Snider said. "Not having anyone to connect with, not having anywhere to go."

The attempt to form a support group first started at the police department until it was clear that it needed to be located somewhere more familiar to the elderly. The center was the solution to this.

"It would be nice to have individuals who are going through this stage of life come together to be able to walk through them together and come up with coping skills and just be able to build those bonds," Snider said.

Starting four weeks ago, the meetings have made a lasting impact; not just on members, but on Snider herself.

"This has sort of become a self-care for me as well. I really love these women, and right now we only have women in this group," said Snider.

Currently, the group is composed of only women, though the hope is to welcome new participants.

The Senior Center is in need of new volunteers, more specifically, college students willing to teach a course on using cell phones, and an experienced individual to start up and manage the secondhand store located within the center. Executive Director Julie Mears expressed that operations have been slowing down at the center ever since losing five employees due to federal budget cuts.

If you're interested in volunteering or becoming a member, you can visit the Muncie/Delaware County Senior Citizens Center's Facebook page.

Contact Allison Branecki with comments at allison.branecki@bsu.edu.

Opening the festival on October 9 is the film Rental Family, starring Academy Award-winning actor Brendan Fraser, who was actually born in Indianapolis. The film follows Fraser, who plays an American actor in Japan working for a "rental family" agency. This isn't the only Indianapolis-born actor present at Heartland, as Indianapolis-born actress Katy O'Brian stars in both the Sydney Sweeney-led biopic Christy, as well as the horror-comedy Queens of the Dead, directed by heiress to zombie royalty Tina Romero. The film closing out the festival on October 19 is Nuremberg, featuring Oscar-winner and University of Evansville graduate Rami Malek, who plays a WWII psychiatrist amidst the infamous Nuremberg Trials.

Some other notable features include Bradley Cooper's new standup-centric film Is This Thing On?, starring Will Arnet and Laura Dern; After the Hunt, starring Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, and the Emmy-winning Ayo Edebiri; animated feature Arco starring Natalie Portman, Will Ferrell, and Mark Ruffalo; alongside many other notable films.

The 34th Heartland International Film Festival takes place in Indianapolis Indiana from October 9-19.

Sources: HeartlandInternationalFilmFestival, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB

Image Sources: Heartland International Film Festival, Searchlight Pictures

Contact Ian Case with comments at ian.case@bsu.edu or on Instagram @iancasian

The test, initiated in 1956 by President Dwight Eisenhower and formally implemented in American school systems in 1966 by President Lyndon Johnson, will be revived in the physical education curriculum after being revoked in 2012 by President Barack Obama's administration.

The first version of the test, designed in the 1940s by Hans Kraus and Sonja Weber, was originally intended to measure fitness and athleticism, with a focus on flexibility and core strength, according to an August 2025 article from National Public Radio (NPR). Initially titled the Kraus-Weber test, it was later used to test thousands of students in the U.S. and several European countries.

However, researchers found that a significant number of U.S. schoolchildren, 58 percent, failed at least one part of the test, compared to 8.7 percent in the European countries.

In 1956, President Eisenhower then founded the President's Council on Youth Fitness, and a year later, a national fitness test was created within the council. About a decade after that, the test was formalized and introduced in American physical education classes, consisting of a variety of exercises, such as the shuttle run and pull-ups. It was assigned to students aged six to 17 twice per school year to measure their fitness and athletic levels against national standards, specifically to determine if students fell at, above or below the 85th percentile. Those who scored at or above the 85th percentile also earned a Presidential Physical Fitness Award.

Freshman Colin Walrond, a swimmer on Ball State's Division I swim team, voiced his thoughts on these standards.

"I don't think [students] should be held against national standards. I think the [physical education] P.E. teachers should be looking more at their effort levels. If somebody is genuinely trying but falls below the national standard, they're still trying their best; not everybody is physically fit in the same way," he said.

In 2013, the test was officially removed from schools and replaced by a voluntary program called the Presidential Youth Fitness Program, which focused more on the value of an overall healthy, day-to-day lifestyle rather than athleticism. However, a component of the Presidential Fitness Test, the FitnessGram, was still retained in some schools' physical education curricula across the U.S. after the test was discontinued. It also included a change of seeing how long students could keep a run pace rather than performing the mile run, which was later called the PACER test, according to a November 2014 article from NPR.

Some of the reasons the Presidential Fitness Test was removed and replaced were due to criticism of its negative impact on students' mental health and critics questioning the effectiveness of the test, according to NPR.

Andrea McMurtry, a current kinesiology professor at Ball State University and former physical education instructor at Fisher's Junior High, taught while the test was instituted in schools in 2001.

"I think before you would perform this test, you would want to make sure that students had been introduced to these skills previously and had opportunities to practice them so that they were comfortable with how to do these exercises," she said.

Other concerns child development and fitness experts had regarding the test included how the emphasis on scoring could deter children from pursuing fitness and athleticism, according to a July 2025 article from The New York Times, and that not all children are the same size or at the same developmental stage.

McMurtry discussed how many students from her classes were embarrassed to perform the test exercises in front of their classmates, which could risk having an adverse effect on their self-esteem.

"You would want to make sure that students were not asked to perform the test in front of others all on their own, being watched by the entire class," McMurtry stated. "I think it's just important to remember that movement is supposed to be fun, but people don't enjoy moving if it's too hard for them."

Data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Preventionshows how obesity rates in children ages two to 19 still continued to increase even when the test was in the curriculum, with a 5.1 percent increase rate in 1971 and a 16.9 percent increase rate in 2012. In 2020, it rose to 19.7 percent, according to a CDC fact sheet on childhood obesity.

According to the White House Fact Sheet on the Reestablishment of the Presidential Fitness Test, the primary objectives through the reimplementation of the test are to uphold a strong and vital America, to make America active again and to reinstate fitness and health for the country's youth.

The statement also reads that obesity, chronic illness, poor nutrition and activity levels are at crisis rates amongst the youth and that these crisis levels "weaken our economy, military readiness, academic performance and national morale."

The revitalization of the test will still reward those who excel in physical education, and criteria will be developed for a Presidential Fitness Award. However, it is unclear whether those criteria will include holding students' scores against national standards. It has also not yet been determined whether the test will consist of the same exercises as the previous one.

When it comes to the idea of whether or not fitness is a political idea, Ball State political science professor Darren Wheeler said that it doesn't necessarily have to be.

"I don't think [fitness] needs to be political, I guess you could politicize it, such as vaccines, but everyone should [be] encouraged to engage in healthy behaviors such as exercise and medical screening. Those are things everyone on the blue and red teams should be able to agree on."

According to the CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report for 2013-2023, trends for both male and female students of meeting aerobic and muscle-strengthening guidelines decreased from 2013 to 2023, with males' rates at a seven percent decrease and females at four percent. Sleep behaviors and healthy dietary habits have also been at a decreasing rate, according to the report.

In an August 2025 interview with Wish TV, McMurtry stated, "It's an awesome test to see if students are at elite levels of fitness, but a lot of our students are not there anymore, and so we just have to be really cautious as we look at this test, if we're testing something that students are even capable of doing anymore."

Ball State students and faculty who are familiar with the Presidential Fitness Test-whether from taking it, administering it or both-are curious about what the new version will look like. After a 13-year absence from American physical education programs, its return has sparked wide-ranging opinions across the nation. Supporters see it as a way to encourage physical activity, reduce obesity and prevent chronic illness. Critics, however, question whether the test is the best way to measure students' fitness levels.

Contact Gracie Parkhurst via email at gracie.parkhurst@bsu.edu.