The last two times Ball State had a chance to win four straightmatches, they failed.
This weekend, the Cardinals will have a chance to put togethertheir longest winning streak of the season, but they'll have to getit done on the road.
Ball State (9-6 overall, 3-1 Mid-American Conference) visitsCentral Michigan (4-11, 1-4) on Friday and Eastern Michigan (9-6,5-0) on Saturday. With a quarter of the conference season over,head coach Randy Litchfield said this is the time when teams startplaying with desperation.
"Whether it's to get a home match in the first round of thetournament or to win a championship, things start gettingdesperate," Litchfield said. "I just kind of expect when we go intoother peoples' buildings to see a lot of heart and a lot ofdesperation."
One way the Cardinals can win on the road is by having a strongblocking game, something they have had success with so far. TheCards have the second-best blocks-per-game total in theMid-American Conference (3.06).
"It is the most intimidating skill in the game, and on the road,you need that," Litchfield said.
Of the two teams Ball State faces this weekend, one (Eastern)sits at the top of the MAC's West Division, Eastern Michigan andthe other at the bottom.
Eastern has won six straight matches, and while they appear thetougher test, Litchfield said the team can't overlook Central. Hesaid the team might have been able to focus on Eastern more if BallState was at home, but when playing on the road, they have to goone match at a time.
Senior Stacie Baldwin said the team can stay focused for both byusing the Central game as preparation.
"You're preparing for Eastern because you want to be sharp forEastern," Baldwin said. "You don't want to take a step back againstCentral."
The roll Eastern is on is nothing new for the Cardinals; almostevery MAC team they have faced has had a winning streak.
"It's what we've been facing early in this MAC schedule, is allthese hot teams," Litchfield said. "We're really having to earn it.Honestly, we're not getting any cheapies."
Ball State has several individuals performing well going intothe weekend, but Litchfield is still looking for more offensivebalance. Juniors Sarah Obras and Rachel Refenes have beenconsistent threats for the Cardinals all season, but getting morepeople involved would help the offense even more.
"It's something that I have to consciously think about becauseit's easy to set Sarah and Rachel all the time because they're justsuch dominant hitters," Baldwin said.
Litchfield said the team has been working on diversifying theoffense in practice, but will have to wait until the match to seeif the team gets better balance.
"What I hope to do this weekend is to try and break out of thatcomfort zone a little bit and get some other people going,"Litchfield said.
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