When the Cardinals open the Ball State Active Ankle Challenge against Gardner-Webb at 7 p.m. Friday, it will be a match-up that appears lopsided.
Gardner-Webb, a team coming off a 10-20 record last season, will play Ball State a season after the latter earned an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament before dropping three sets to Louisville.
But this year, Ball State is without five starters from its 2011 squad and has battled several injuries in the last six months, culminating in the recent loss of redshirt freshman outside hitter Marquita Marshall to a knee injury.
That's why coach Steve Shondell canceled the team's Red and White scrimmage - to rest up.
"We've come back pretty fresh and feeling pretty good this week since we took those three days off last weekend," he said.
Shondell has more than just injuries to worry about, though. He hasn't seen Gardner-Webb, Virginia Commonwealth University or Illinois State yet - the three teams Ball State will play in the tournament.
"We're going to try and learn as much about our opponents as we can as the match goes on," Shondell said. "We can't really issue a great scouting report on opponents we haven't seen."
Shondell's only plan right now is to make sure each one of his players knows how to fulfill her specific roles.
"We are just going to focus mostly on ourselves and try and play our games to the best of our ability," he said.
The only team Ball State played last year of the three it will face this weekend is VCU, a team with athleticism that could cause fits for Ball State's ailing players.
"VCU is probably the most athletic team we played all last season," Shondell said. "We do have a little feel for the level that they play at and the talent level that they have. We know that they are going to be a great challenge."
Shondell expects redshirt freshman middle blocker Hayley Benson to step up as the first player off the bench in the front row. She won't be the only one called on with the team trying to keep players rested and in the lineup throughout the season, Shondell said.
"The girls on the bench have to be ready," Shondell said. "I think everyone's going to be ready to go. I would love to get everyone on the court this weekend, and I think that's definitely a possibility."
Shondell said he expects everyone who has been back in practice to be able to play this weekend, something he said the team needs after not being healthy enough for a scrimmage.
"We know we are going to get really good competition and that's a good thing because we are going to find out what our strengths and weaknesses are," Shondell said.
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BATES NAMED TO ALL-MAC
Senior outside hitter Kara Bates was named to the West Division Preseason All-Mid-American Conference Team on Wednesday.
Bates was the only Ball State player picked for the team. She was previously named to the 2011 All-MAC Team and All-MAC Tournament Team in her first year at Ball State after transferring from Maryland.
Bates was one of Ball State's top offensive players last season, leading the team with a 3.20 kills-per-set average.
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