The men's volleyball team has built its entire season up to this weekend.
The 12th-ranked Cardinals travel to Ohio State on Friday to battle the No. 11 Buckeyes for a one-game lead in the race for the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association regular-season championship with one match to play.
"This match is huge," sophomore middle attacker Zoran Grabovac said. "Whoever wins this hosts the (MIVA) tournament. That's a pretty big advantage."
Ball State (19-7, 11-3 MIVA) and Ohio State (18-8, 11-3 MIVA) are tied for first place in the league heading into the final weekend of the regular season. If the Cardinals win and get past lowly Findlay (14-14, 3-11 MIVA) on Saturday, they win the conference title.
Head coach Joel Walton said the Cardinals-Buckeyes match is always big because they are the two oldest programs in the conference. He said the chance for a championship adds intensity to an already heated rivalry.
"This isn't the first time this has happened," Walton said about the teams fighting for a shot at the MIVA crown. "This is a fairly common matchup at this point in the season."
Ball State has won the most MIVA championships with 21, followed by Ohio State with 11. The two have combined to win 32 of the 43 MIVA championships since the league was formed in 1961.
Ohio State head coach Pete Hanson said the rivalry is particularly important for him because he is an alumni of Ball State and the men's volleyball program. Hanson lettered in volleyball in 1978 and 1979.
"There's definitely an inter-rivalry when I'm competing against my alma mater," Hanson said. "It means a bit more to me, but not necessarily my players."
Walton and Ohio State head coach Pete Hanson said hosting the postseason tournament provides a big advantage. Three of the past four schools to host the tournament have won the conference, giving them a berth into the NCAA Final Four.
Grabovac said he wants to stay at home for the tournament because it takes away some of the stress of competing.
"It's big from a mental perspective," Grabovac said. "When you're at home you don't have to travel or worry about spending extra energy on the game."
If Ball State wins Friday, they still must win Saturday at Findlay to capture the No. 1 seed. Though Walton is concerned that his team might relax against a weaker Oiler team, he thinks the Cardinals will go to Findlay ready to play.
"It's not a 'so what' match," Walton said. "We're still playing for a championship."
Grabovac said the key to staying focused at Findlay is remembering how important the match is, not that the Cardinals beat the Oilers 3-0 Feb. 27.
"We need to go into it like any other match," Grabovac said. "We need to think about it as if playing we were playing Ohio State or any other big game. It's just another match that will prepare us for the conference tournament."
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