With two more weekends to go in the regular Mid-American Conference season schedule, the MAC West Division champion Ball State women's volleyball team (19-7, 14-1 MAC) is sitting pretty. If the Cardinals win, the MAC Championship Tournament will be held in Muncie. Two of Ball State's final three matches take place this weekend in Worthen Arena.
"It feels real good to be in control of our destiny," head coach Randy Litchfield said. "There's nothing worse than having to watch scoreboards this time of year and we're free of that."
The team will enter the weekend on only one day of rest after beating Miami Wednesday night 3-0. Litchfield said the quick win was very helpful to the Cardinals.
"It is especially important because we are a morning practice team," he said. "It is hard to come in after a long night and have a lot of game for practice."
Ball State's weekend begins Friday at 7 p.m. when they face last year's West Division champion Northern Illinois. The Huskies have a history of giving the Cardinals headaches and the all-time series is knotted at 16 wins apiece.
"I doubt many of us know the all-series records, but I do know that my whole team is aware of the championship they won last year," Litchfield said. "It was a championship we wanted. That's what makes rivalries."
Northern Illinois has not had its best season this year at 12-14 overall and 5-9 in the MAC. Litchfield is not ready to count them out though.
"They still have a shot at the conference tourney and I expect them to have a lot of fight in them," he said. "I think that's good for us because going into the most critical and I don't want a lot of noncompetitive matches."
The two schools' previous meeting this season was the first match of the MAC season. In that match, Ball State defeated Northern Illinois 3-1 (33-31, 28-30, 30-24, 30-27) in DeKalb, Ill., on Sept. 25. Litchfield said a lot has changed since then .
"We're infinitely better in the middle and I think we're overall a much more solid defensive team," he said.
On Saturday at 7 p.m., the Cards will play host to Western Michigan. The Broncos are team that is very similar to Northern Illinois in the eyes of Litchfield.
"They are a very solid rival of ours, and they are also in a fight for that playoff spot," he said. "I have this feeling it is going to be a really competitive match."
In the teams' first match in Kalamazoo on Nov. 1, the Cardinals beat the Broncos 3-1 (30-21, 24-30, 27-30, 30-26). In that match, Ball State took advantage of a solid middle attack. It is a part of their game that has been instrumental to their season's success.
"Nikki Allen has been playing great and of course, Kristin Westhof and Melissa Oliver have been getting playing time in that other middle spot," Litchfield said. "It is a dimension we have to have to win matches late in the year.
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