This week in practice each member of the women's volleyball teampicked two areas of their game and worked on improving them, headcoach Randy Litchfield said.
"We've had a nice week with that," Litchfield said. "I thinkeverybody needs to fine tune. If every player can raise theirabilities a notch, what does that do for the team ultimately?"
That challenge is one way the team is trying to stay focused andavoid a letdown in the midst of a nine-match and 15-game winningstreak. This weekend they will try to keep those streaks alive andalso try to maintain the lead in the Mid-American Conference WestDivision.
Ball State (15-6, 8-1) will face Buffalo (7-16, 0-10) on Fridayand Kent State (8-11, 5-7) on Saturday in Worthen Arena. Neitheropponent enters the weekend with impressive records, but Litchfieldsaid every match concerns him.
"I truly believe they are better then their record shows," hesaid about Buffalo.
Ball State has faced the Bulls seven times and has won eachmatch, all by 3-0 decisions, so the possibility of keeping bothstreaks alive is strong if history repeats itself.�
Kent State is also a team that is better then its record mayindicate. The Golden Flashes have lost some close matches thisseason and while they have a losing record they still sit third inthe MAC East.
"If you analyze player for player talent, I believe Kent Stateis top four in the league," Litchfield said.�
Junior Sarah Obras said that staying focused in the midst of awinning streak starts in practice, and the coaching staff has donea good job of keeping the team focused, while helping them improveat the same time.
"We have to make sure we stay focused in practice and we don'tgo soft or relax or take anybody for granted," Obras said.
Obras as well as the rest of the team know they can't overlookan opponent and must control the match from the beginning.
"It's those teams that are tired of losing that are going tocome out and play their best," Obras said.
If Ball State were to sweep both teams this weekend, their gamestreak would be at 21, two short of the school record. On the otherhand, a loss this weekend would go against the team's goal of notgetting upset by an underdog team.
"I hope that there's some desperation at each match, becausewhen your playing to the goals we have, you can't afford losses andyou can't afford to get upset," Litchfield said.
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