Last offseason, Steve Shondell made a bold prediction about the upcoming Mid-American Conference season.
"The MAC is going to be tougher than it's probably been in its history this season," Shondell said during an interview in June 2011.
It's been a year since then, and every MAC team has undergone change of some kind in that time. Naturally, Shondell's take on the conference must have changed along with it.
Or not.
With the release of the Ball State women's volleyball team's 2012 schedule on May 23, Shondell is still as high as ever on the competition in the MAC that Ball State will face in the fall.
"I think it's a very competitive, challenging schedule [and] one that will prepare us for the toughest Mid-American Conference season in the history of the MAC," Shondell said.
Ball State was already hit last season with the brutal reality of how quickly a team's standing in the conference can change.
Even though the Cardinals sat atop the MAC rankings for most of the 2011 season, a three-match losing streak at the beginning of November sent them tumbling back to the fourth seed in the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
With a now younger and less experienced group of players under Shondell's direction this season, he's made sure to prepare them well for the MAC with a tough non-conference schedule.
Including MAC teams, 15 of Ball State's matches this season will be against top-100 RPI opponents.
To combat that challenge, Ball State will host two tournaments this season. The Ball State Active Ankle Challenge will open the team's season on Aug. 24-25, and the Ball State Tournament will mark the conclusion of its non-conference schedule on Sept. 14-15.
The decision to host two tournaments comes with a big goal in mind from Shondell.
"If you look at a lot of the big-time programs, they play two tournaments at home, and that's why we're trying to become a big-time program," Shondell said. "We have a great facility [and] one of the finest venues in the entire country. Athletes love to play in front of a great crowd and a great environment. It just made sense to play as many tournaments at home as we possibly can."
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