Fourteenth-ranked Ball State will use the next two weeks to improve an error-riddled offense after dropping two home matches over the weekend.
The men's volleyball team lost to No. 7 Penn State 3-2 on Friday despite a fiercely fought fifth game and was swept Saturday by George Mason (30-27, 30-28, 30-27).
The Cardinals have their first break of the season, with no match until Feb. 4.
"I'm going to push the guys," Walton said. "We need to get some leaders on this team, we need to see which of these guys are willing to pay the price."
Although BSU topped both Penn State and George Mason in kills, the team also had more errors. The Cards had a .173 hitting percentage to the Lions' .208 on Friday and a .192 to the Patriots' .310 on Saturday.
"Hitters aren't sure where to be, [setter] Dave [Carlson] isn't locating the ball exactly right, and it kind of snowballs," Walton said.
The Cards came out with a strong defense against Penn State, winning the first two games, but fell apart in the third.
"I think Penn State came out and started playing a whole lot better," Walton said. "We stopped passing the ball."
The Lions shut down middle attackers Zoran Grabovac and Andrew Braley, forcing outside attacker Nick Meyer to step up. Meyer led the Cards with 23 kills, nine of them in the third game. Luis Castera had 12, and Grabovac and Evan Berg had nine.
A roaring crowd helped the team generate a six-point comeback in the fifth game to take a 13-12.
"I just love seeing a huge crowd here," Meyer said. "It's just awesome to have that kind of energy behind you when you're playing a team like Penn State."
The final surge wasn't enough, though. The two teams battled back and forth, trading a one-point lead until the Lions finally broke ahead to win it, 25-23.
The long fight against Penn State wore down the Cards for their match against the George Mason.
"I thought we came out real flat," Berg said. "We came off a big loss. A loss like that after going so long in the fifth game just kind of gets you emotionally drained, not just physically drained."
Meyer again led the team in kills with 17 but forced eight errors. Berg and Castera both had nine kills but had six and eight errors, respectively. Berg led the team both nights in digs, with 13 against Penn State and 14 against George Mason.
Despite Berg's digs, BSU's defense suffered against the Patriots, with two blocks to their 14.
Walton said the team focused too much on Shaun Powell, who had 39 kills in George Mason's win against IPFW on Friday. Powell had only nine against the Cards.
Service errors also hurt the Cards in both matches, giving 11 points to the Patriots and 21 to Penn State.
Ball State will have another chance against Penn State on Feb. 4 and 5, when it goes to Springfield College to play in the Hall of Fame Tournament.
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