The Ball State women's volleyball team continues its month-long road trek tonight when it travels to Columbus, Ohio to square off against Ohio State. The Buckeyes, ranked 18th nationally, are the third top 25 team that the Cardinals have faced in less than a week.
For a team that is currently fighting an on-going battle with injuries, the quick turn around between last weekend's three losses at the USC/Holiday Inn Volleyball Tournament in Los Angeles and tonight's match comes at a very trying time according to head coach Randy Litchfield. The Cardinals canceled a practice that was scheduled for Monday and opted for treatment and rehabilitation in the training room instead. In spite of the fatigue, Litchfield is still confident that Ball State will be able to put forth a strong effort.
"The type of kids we have are pretty tough," Litchfield said. "We'll be ready to go."
This will be Ohio State's first match of the season. Last season, the Buckeyes went 21-11 overall and made it to the NCAA regional semifinals, but that was with an almost entirely different team than they will be fielding this year, due to the graduation of five starters.
"They are going to have a lot of new faces in the line-up," Litchfield said. "They are a gigantic mystery. We will probably never go into a match where we know so little."
One 'old face' in the lineup for Ohio State will be junior outside attacker Stacey Gordon. Last year, Gordon was the Big Ten Player of the Year, as well as a first-team All-American. Her amazing offensive ability, while definitely a boon for Ohio State, may actually be a positive for the Cardinals as well Litchfield says.
"They set her all over the court, which will actually help our defense," he said. "We know where the ball is going to go."
Leading the way for Ball State on offense are sophomore outside hitter Sarah Obras, who is averaging 5.83 kills per game, and junior setter Stacie Baldwin, averaging 9.08 assists per game. On defense, the Cardinals turn to junior libero Stephanie Keller and her 3.25 dig per game average.
For Ball State, tonight's match is a chance to shake off any bad feelings from last weekend and get on the winning track.
"We left one or two great matches on the table last weekend," Litchfield said. "This will be a great opportunity for us to go out and play how we want to play."
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