The football team wasn't the only Ball State team celebrating this weekend.
The Ball State volleyball team extended its undefeated season to 7-0 after it won the Marriott Volley Brawl by winning all four of its weekend matches.
Ball State collected victories against Murray State and Texas A&M - Corpus Christi on Saturday after defeating Evansville and Valparaiso on Friday.
Senior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl continued her incredible season with her second tournament MVP award of the year. She had a team-high 50 kills in the tournament to go along with a .395 hitting percentage and five aces.
"We like to call her ‘Big Money'," coach Steve Shondell said of Brandl. "She's come in and worked her tail off this preseason. I think she's determined to make the most of [her senior season]."
Brandl wasn't the only Ball State player to make quality plays in their four tournament matches.
After adjusting to Ball State's scheme and rotations through the first three matches of the season, junior outside hitter Kara Bates broke out in the Marriott Volleyball Brawl.
Bates, a transfer from Maryland, ended the tournament with 35 kills and a .350 success rate. She added 28 digs on defense and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Shondell said last week he expects Bates to improve throughout the season as she became more comfortable on the court.
"She's made a world of progress in practice," he said. "It's going to take some time to get that confidence. Once she starts to experience that success, I just have great expectations for her. She's going to be a great player for us."
Freshman Kelly Hopkins - another player who Shondell has recently praised - did not receive any playing time in any match this weekend.
Prior to the start of the season, Shondell said Hopkins could be kept on the active roster after she impressed the coaching staff in preseason practices.
However, Shondell has now backed off those statements two weeks into the year.
The chances of Hopkins playing this season are now linked to Ball State's health.
"I'm still debating back and forth whether to redshirt her," he said. "We're not going to announce that, because if someone gets hurt, she'll be in. If we can keep [Mindy Marx] healthy, then we should be able to redshirt Kelly."
Ball State will now head into the Purdue Active Ankle Challenge this weekend with a match against the best team on its schedule – 13th ranked Purdue.
The match will also feature the battle of the Shondell's, with Purdue coach Dave Shondell coaching against his brother Steve for the first time in a collegiate match.
"It's going to be a brutal schedule," Shondell said. "It's a schedule we're looking forward to to see how we compete with some of the top teams in the country.
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