WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL: Ball State's Baker ruled out for season
So far in 2012, Ball State (9-10) has faced a perfect storm of bad luck.
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So far in 2012, Ball State (9-10) has faced a perfect storm of bad luck.
Every time Ball State finally sees the light at the end of the tunnel, a frustrating performance forces a setback.
Ball State has struggled in close matches all season long, and Central Michigan was guaranteed to be a nail-biter.
As Ball State's goals evolve to the Mid-American Conference schedule, errors have still been an issue on the road.
When Ball State and other top Mid-American Conference women's volleyball programs beefed by their non-conference schedule in 2012, they probably expected a bit more respect when the NCAA's RPI rankings were finally released.
The newly released NCAA women's volleyball RPI rankings are a bit down on the Mid-American Conference in 2012.
In 2011, Ball State made a trip to play Northern Illinois and Western Michigan, and it ended in two difficult losses.
It's never easy to win a match when unforced errors litter the stat sheet, but Ball State (9-7) has fared well enough for most of the season despite struggling with errors.
Throughout games this season, Ball State coach Craig Roberts hasn't been shy in voicing his displeasure with certain calls made by the referee. Roberts said he's never been thrown out of a game at the Division I level, but his occasional antagonizing nature on the field may have cost him in Friday's game at Kent State. After receiving a yellow card in the first half, Roberts was thrown out in the 68th minute of the game because of a comment, he said, a linesman near the bench misinterpreted. "I didn't say anything to the side official at all," Roberts said. "Some of the players were continually getting aggravated with some of the decision-making throughout the game. I just told my assistant not to worry about it. We would contact the assigner of the officials and take it up with him. He must have overheard that and called the center official over to take action."
When Ball State travels to Northern Illinois for its third conference match of the season, it will be the first time the two have played since Northern Illinois eliminated Ball State in the 2011 Mid-American Conference tournament.
In the midst of Mid-American Conference play, Ball State has hit a consistency that had been missing for the better part of a month. Much of the credit goes to the most maligned part of the team so far this year - the attack. During its 4-6 stretch to start the season, Ball State struggled to a .206 attack percentage including four matches below the .200 mark. Last season's NCAA tournament team finished with a .242 percentage en route to a 25-8 record. But since Ball State started its five-match winning streak, it hasn't had an attack percentage less than .200 and has slowly improved it to .229. That consistency is the biggest reason for Ball State's rebound in its winning streak, the brunt of which has been spearheaded by senior outside hitter Kara Bates. Bates said the influx of new starters and junior setter Jacqui Seidel's improving comfort after tearing her ACL in 2011 has played a big role in the struggle to regain the same form as last year. "We are asking people to step up that haven't stepped up before," Bates said. "[Consistency is] really important and we're peaking at the right time right now." Bates has been a different player after meeting with coach Steve Shondell following a loss to Creighton in the Northern Colorado Classic. She has recorded two matches with an attack percentage more than .400 with her lowest being .258 in a three-set win over Pittsburgh. Shondell said Bates' leadership has allowed everyone else to relax on the court. "She's allowed Jacqui [Seidel] to become more of the setter she's capable of being," he said. It wasn't easy going to go through a 4-6 slide, Bates said, but Shondell's advice to remain calm and positive have been effective for her. "I really respect Steve as a person and I think that when we were kind of in our slump, it was just like we didn't know what to do," Bates said. "No one really had answers. "We had such high goals going into the season that we kind of expected to come out of the gates running and that frustrated us a lot." Senior middle blocker Lisa Scott said everyone has improved in the last couple weeks, not just Seidel, and the hitter still has to do her job regardless of the set. "It's not an excuse if a ball isn't in the right spot and you still make an error," Scott said. "It's still an error and it still counts against you. You just have to figure out that you have to do whatever you have to do to keep the ball in play." Much of the work has been to improve Seidel's footwork and to have more balance on sets, Bates said. In the wake of Seidel's quick return from her ACL injury, Shondell has noticed her favoring her stronger leg more. Correcting that has been a key to the improved connections. "A lot of it has to do with Jacqui just staying balanced on [her] two feet," Bates said. Shondell said the setter to hitter connections have been far more consistent in the last couple weeks, but he can still see improvement. Ball State is going to need to continue that progress if it hopes to compete in the MAC and make another NCAA tournament in 2012. -á
Injuries have done its damage to Ball State's front row depth this season. Finding out late Saturday that junior outside hitter Kylee Baker wasn't available had to be a bit nerve racking for coach Steve Shondell.
Ball State got its first win on the Mid-American Conference schedule Thursday night, extending the team's current winning streak.
Facing an abundance of adversity heading into the Ball State Tournament last weekend, Steve Shondell and his team exemplified the kind of grit and determination it takes to succeed.
A tumultuous first set was enough for Ball State in its first Mid-American Conference match.
A victory over Pittsburgh, Wright State, and Wyoming in the Ball State Tournament may have been just what the women's volleyball team needed coming into the Mid-American Conference schedule this week.
Unlike the 2011 season, Ball State hasn't seen the number of awards being thrown out to its players each week. But that might start changing.
Being at home against a lighter competition is just what Ball State was looking for.
A return home couldn't have come at a better time for Ball State.
Ball State wouldn't let the road struggles follow them to Worthen arena as the team burst out to a 3-0 set win over Pittsburgh in its opening match of the Ball State Tournament.