Ball State enters postseason play as the No. 4 seed and is paired up with fifth-seeded IPFW. The Cardinals have defeated the Mastodons twice this season on Feb. 25 and April 3. The winner of tonight's match then moves on to play at No. 1 seed Ohio State University, which received a first-round bye. The Buckeyes have already defeated the Cardinals twice this season.
No. 13 Ball State University opens MIVA Tournament play Saturday night in Worthen Arena against IPFW, and the seniors don't want it to be their last match in a Ball State uniform. The Cardinals are now in a one-and-done situation from here on out.
Steve Shondell has barely had time to sit down to evaluate his team, get to know each player's strengths and weaknesses, address assistant coaching vacancies and speak to recruits. Yet he knows the immediate direction he wants to take the team — the NCAA Tournament.
Julie Breivogel will join the Purdue staff and coach during summer camps.
Ball State was soundly swept by No. 11 Ohio State University Friday night in Columbus, Ohio, as the Buckeyes clinched the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association with the victory. It took the Cardinals 24 hours to regroup. Ball State swept No. 13 Loyola University 3-0 (30-25, 30-28, 30-28) Saturday night in Worthen Arena, claiming its second win over a ranked team this season.
The No. 11 Buckeyes (18-7, 10-1 MIVA) are the defending MIVA champions and have swept the Cardinals in the conference championship match the last two seasons. The two schools have already played in Muncie this season with the Buckeyes getting the sweep.
Steve Shondell was introduced Tuesday as the sixth head coach in school history. He comes to Ball State following a 34-year tenure as the girls volleyball coach at Burris Laboratory School.
There was no time for Steve Shondell to settle into his new position as the women's volleyball coach for Ball State University on Wednesday. Less than 24 hours after the announcement of his hiring, Shondell returned to Worthen Arena for his first practice with the team and began his whirlwind day of meetings.
Senior Libero Billy Ebel only has a few matches left in his Ball State University uniform, and there was one thing he had to do before graduating: Get a mohawk.
Ball State moves to 17-9 on the season (6-4 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) while Saint Francis falls below .500 to 12-13. Ball State closes out the regular season against MIVA leaders No. 13 Ohio State University and No. 11 Loyola University next weekend. Ball State is currently the No. 3 seed in the MIVA tournament, which begins April, 24.
Ball State moves to 16-9 and stays at 6-4 in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. Ball State closes out its non-conference schedule tonight in Worthen Arena versus Saint Francis University.
King College is not a name that with star power, but when it takes on No. 15 Ball State University at 7 p.m in Worthen Arena. it will be proof that volleyball is a growing sport.
Ball State lost to Lewis 3-2 on Feb. 26 with the fifth game determined by two points. Tuesday night was the same story with the Cardinals instead surviving 15-13 in the game five.
No. 15 Ball State travels to Lewis for a midweek MIVA match with plenty of rankings implications.
Ball State has three matches remaining with Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association schools to improve its seeding before the MIVA tournament, which is less than three weeks away.
Middles attackers J.D. Gasparovic and Anders Nelson led the team in kills with eight. IPFW (9-15, 2-8 MIVA) was unable to force Ball State to use its outside attackers like it did in their earlier encounter this season in Muncie.
Ball State is coming off its first victory against a ranked team this season, sweeping No. 3 California State University Northridge on Saturday. Coach Joel Walton, however, doesn't want his team to stop there.
After outside attacker Larry Wrather scored match point with a solo block, Ball State's bench cleared to celebrate on the court as the fans at Worthen Arena gave a standing ovation. It was the biggest celebration men's volleyball players had experienced this season.
The feeling of knocking off a top-five team was something the Ball State University middle attacker had never experienced in his career. It was even more meaningful to Nelson, though, because he out-played an All-American in the process of securing one of the biggest upsets in Ball State's 46-year program history.
Ball State went from being swept by No. 3 Cal State Northridge on Friday night to returning the favor by sweeping the Matadors 30-24, 30-28, 30-22 Saturday night in Worthen Arena. It was Ball State's first victory against a ranked opponent in six attempts this season and the first time the Cardinals have defeated a top-five ranked team since defeating then-No. 4 IPFW in February 1999.
