The Ball State women's volleyball team is as close as a team can be. The friendships between players go beyond the court and into each other's personal lives.
But learning how to take those friendships out of consideration while playing volleyball could be Ball State's biggest issue right now.
Despite ranking in the top-five of all major Mid-American Conference statistics, a lack of player leadership has been a problem raised by several players on the team heading into matches against Ohio on Friday and Kent State on Saturday.
"That's something we're missing on the court right now," sophomore libero Catie Fredrich said.
Outside hitter Kara Bates said the team is still searching for a player to provide direction during a match.
"I think that sometimes we get in situations where everyone looks around waiting for someone to say something," she said. "I think a lot of that has to do with the team being so close. No one wants to hurt each other's feelings."
In 2010, former libero Alyssa Rio was regarded as Ball State's on-court leader. Her passion and energy was unmatched, lighting fires within player's bellies whenever Ball State looked in danger of losing.
While Rio remains with the Cardinals as a student assistant coach this season, her emotional impact as a player is missed. The Cardinals need a player to step up and fill the void left by her.
Following Ball State's 3-1 loss to Eastern Michigan Saturday, senior setter Brittany McGinnis is in a strong position to take hold of that role.
"I remember there was a point in between our games when our talk was pretty intense," Bates said. "[Assistant coach] Kelli [Miller] kind of said ‘You guys are too good for this. Get your act together and let's go.' Brittany kind of fed off of that. In our fourth game when we were struggling, she said ‘Kara, Kelsey [Brandl], I'm going to set you guys a ball and you better put it away.' As a setter, she stepped up and did that for us,"
With a 16-3 overall record and 5-1 record in the MAC, Ball State is fortunate to lack many problems related to technique or performance. Still, all elite teams need a player to help push the rest of the group, a status the Cardinals strive to achieve.
Coming off the Eastern Michigan loss, the bus ride back to Muncie was much quieter than usual for Ball State, proving the team won't take losing easily.
"The environment was a little different," Bates said about the team's attitude following defeat. "Everyone was definitely pissed off about the loss. We shouldn't be losing to Eastern Michigan. They're a good team, but we're better."
While McGinnis's recent rise in leadership should appeal to everyone on the team if it can pull them through tough matches, it should especially please Fredrich, who said the veterans on the team should be the ones leading during a match.
"It should come from some of the seniors out on the court," she said. "I think they should step up and be role models out there. They want to have a good senior year, so I think if they step up everyone will follow them."
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