Revenge will be on the mind of the women's volleyball team when they face the Northern Illinois Huskies in the second round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament Friday.
Almost two weeks ago the Huskies defeated the Cardinals in straight sets, including a 30-13 defeat in game two, which is Ball State's worst lose under rally scoring.
No. 7 seed Northern Illiniois defeated No. 10 seed Toledo 0-0 on Tuesday in the first round of the MAC Tournament and now await the No. 2 seed Cardinals.
Head coach Randy Litchfield said he would love another shot at Northern Illinois and said his team will certainly be motivated for that matchup.
The Northern lose was the middle of three straight losses, but Ball State recovered from the losing streak this past weekend with a pair of five-game wins over Eastern Michigan and Toledo.
"We needed to get that confidence back," sophomore Kirby Gibson said this past weekend. "We're in high spirits now and we're ready to play tomorrow and we're ready to go into that MAC Tournament."
LIFE WITHOUT OBRAS
So far this week the Cardinals have had time to get used to life without junior Sarah Obras who suffered a season ending knee injury one week ago at Miami (Ohio).
Sophomore Heather Burleson and freshman Lauren Robbins have been the ones getting the most attention, but Litchfield knows the whole team must help fill Obras's role.
"I'm sure that there's some people that now have traumatically expanded roles, but no one person has to carry that burden," Litchfield said.
Litchfield said the team should expect some longer matches this weekend since they will be without Obras. However if the team was to get a quick win it would only boost the Cardinals confidence, Litchfield said.
Tomorrow the team will work on putting in some offensive sets they can use against Northern, which Litchfield said shouldn't be to hard.
"It wasn't so long ago that we played either team, so it shouldn't be too difficult," Litchfield said.
STREAKING
Ball State has two streaks that may be to its advantage this weekend. While there is a greater chance of matches going five games, the Cardinals are a perfect 5-0 in those matches.
The team also has won their last nine matches at Anderson Arena, where the remainder of the tournament will take place.
While it does look like the Cardinals will need a MAC Championship to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, Litchfield said the team may still have an outside shot if they can make a deep run this weekend.
"I think right now there's about 20 teams on the table for about six spots," Litchfield said. "Those aren't good odds but a good tournament performance will certainly increase those odds."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
