It was only fitting that on Senior Night, a senior led the men's volleyball team to victory.
But it wasn't Jary Delgado, the team leader in kills. It wasn't team captain Keith Schunzel, either. It wasn't even Amitai Sasson, who has had double-figure kills in the past four games.
It was Kenny Cook, playing in just his fifth match this season, who blasted 18 kills and hit .464 in leading the Cardinals over winless Milwaukee School of Engineering (0-22).
"It felt good to have everybody appreciate me having fun out there," Cook said. "I've never been the best player, but it's just cool to have the fans come out and support and cheer me on even though I don't see the court that much."
Before Thursday, Cook's career-high was two kills, which he got April 2 against Findlay. His 18 kills against the Raiders more than doubled his previous career output of 14.
Cook played in 2003, but left the team before this season when it became clear that wouldn't get much playing time. He returned in January, however, when projected starter Luis Castera was declared academically ineligible.
With Cook's help, Ball State (18-7) rolled over the hapless Red Raiders. The Cardinals won in straight sets, 30-11, 30-8, 30-19. They hit .380 in the match, but held Milwaukee to -.125. The Raiders have just six players, leaving them no substitutes.
Head coach Joel Walton used the match to rest the starters and give some of the supporting staff a chance to play. Freshmen Doug Willman, Mark Rumschik and Ken Haney got considerable playing time and were able to contribute at least a kill.
Though the team had fun in the easy victory, the seniors were disappointed that they didn't have a more important match for what could be their last game in Worthen Arena. The Cardinals still have a chance to host a first-round tournament game or the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association tournament.
"You want to at least have to play hard in your final game," Schunzel said. "It would have been nice to play against a conference team, or even anybody who has more than six players on their team."
Delgado said he was surprised with the way the Raiders played.
"I didn't know they were this bad," Delgado said. "I'd rather have a more competitive match ... but we tried to make it fun for the fans."
Walton said he was glad to see the team have a good time in its final regular season home game.
"It was a nice Senior Night for the guys. It was a chance to have a little fun," Walton said. "Hopefully the guys will see it as such."
Schunzel, however, said he didn't see it that way. He said he would have preferred a tougher match to keep the Cardinals sharp heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
"We shouldn't be playing that team," Schunzel said. "That's a disgrace to our program. If I were coaching, I wouldn't have scheduled a match like this. I'm not very happy."--2~2&&!rlrlNlrllrllrHllrlrH-+lrHlH-+lHlHlHlHlx™-¿+âc<+>
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