WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL: Long trip to Colorado to test Ball State

Road tournament to give Cardinals toughest competition so far

Despite getting the opportunity to spend some time in the mountains and enjoying the surroundings, there is still work to be done for the Ball State women's volleyball team.

Ball State faces a difficult test this weekend when it travels to play in the Northern Colorado Classic. Coach Steve Shondell said the competition could be the toughest Ball State faces all season.

The tournament includes Tulsa (5-3), Creighton (5-1) and the host Northern Colorado (6-0). Tulsa finished last season 25th in the nation in RPI and Creighton received votes in the AVCA coaches poll earlier in the season.

But after watching his team play two of its best matches last weekend, Shondell wants to see his team play consistently the way it has shown it can at times this season.

"It will be a lot of fun to experience the mountains and the scenery out there," Shondell said. "Yet we know that when we are mentally focused and mentally ready to play, then we can play at a really high level. But when we are not mentally ready to play, like we have not been in the two Saturday morning matches, then we can be beat by almost anyone."

Morning matches have plagued Ball State early on in the season going 0-2, culminating in a three-set loss to North Texas on Saturday. The competition, along with another relatively early match at noon Saturday, means Ball State will have a better idea where it stands against some of the better teams in the country.

"We know it's going to be the strongest tournament that we've participated in, but that's going to make us better," Shondell said. "That's how you get better - by competing against good competition.

"We are looking forward to see how we compete against three teams that are NCAA [tournament] caliber teams."

Shondell said in order to combat let down efforts in morning matches, he might have to try a curfew to make sure the team is getting proper rest after a Friday night match.

"We may just have to put some stipulations on the team to see if we can get this early morning situations turned around," he said. "It's just based on the fact that we've come out flat on Saturday mornings."

Ball State had started heavy work on blocking in the last week, and it's something that showed up more during its tournament at IUPUI. On the score sheet, the blocks didn't impress, but there were multiple deflections that resulted in easier digs, Shondell said.

"We still have a long way to go," he said. "We've played two weekends of a four-month season. I like the fact that we've improved, but we have a long way to go."


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