The Ball State women's volleyball team kicks off its 2003 season this weekend with a trip to Los Angeles to compete in the Holiday Inn Tournament.
But with three challenging opponents in two days, this promises to be a business trip and not a holiday for the team.
First up for the Cards is the nation's No. 1 team, Southern California. The Trojans enter the tournament 2-0 with dominant three-game wins over No. 2 Hawaii and No. 3 Florida.
Ball State head coach Randy Litchfield put no limit on just how good the Trojans are this year.
"Southern Cal is making a strong case for being the greatest collegiate women's volleyball team ever," he said.
Litchfield said his goal is to play USC better and more disciplined this year than Ball State did last year, when they lost to the Trojans in three games. If the Cards can do that, anything can happen.
"We reviewed last year's tape, and we were in each game at or around point 20," Litchfield said. "I would love to be around at 25 this year. If you can do that, you are in the hunt."
After USC, Ball State will face No. 8 Northern Iowa on Saturday morning, followed by a match with South Carolina that evening. While the road appears to get easier as the tournament goes, Litchfield does not want to focus on any one match alone.
"That philosophy has never worked well for us in the past," he said. "We'll play each as they come. We'll give each team its due respect, that's for sure."
With injuries to key players, the Cardinals are far from 100 percent. Junior middle attacker Melissa Oliver is not going to play due to an injured shoulder, while fellow middle attacker, sophomore Kristin Westhof, is expected to play while nursing a sore ankle.
Ball State will be forced to use some of its less-experienced players to make up for the lack of depth. Still, Litchfield remains optimistic that the tournament will be a good experience for the team, win or lose.
"I would love to see us improve our play every match," he said. "Our freshmen, their learning curve is real steep. They're going to learn a lot. Quite simply, I want to be better when we get home than when we go out there."
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