The men's volleyball team seeks to move up in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association this weekend when it plays two conference foes without lead-scorer Nick Meyers.
Ball State (10-11, 5-3 MIVA) will play No. 12 Lewis (13-11, 8-3 MIVA) at 7 p.m. Friday at Worthen Arena. The Cardinals played the Flyers earlier in the season, losing 3-0.
The Cards will have to take care of Lewis without the help of Meyers, who sprained his ankle in the first game against Penn State last weekend.
Head coach Joel Walton said Meyers has been walking around, but he does not expect Meyers to be able to play until at least next week.
"He seems to be making pretty good progress," Walton said.
Louis Castera will take over Meyers in the right side attacker position, and Mark Rumschik will play in the left side position.
Lewis' two main scorers and blockers are the left-side attackers.
"It makes it difficult for Louis Castera to get on track and put up big numbers for us," Walton said.
However, Lewis will play without its third-highest scorer. Middle attacker Enrique Escalante also suffered a sprained ankle.
The last time BSU played the Flyers was on the road, so Walton said he hopes being home will help the team.
"Hopefully we'll play a more relaxed and consistent game," he said.
Ball State will hit the road Saturday to play Findlay (14-10, 4-7 MIVA). The Cards have already won a matchup against the Oilers earlier this season at home, although it was a hard fought match. Since then, Findlay has beaten Ohio State, who is second in the MIVA, and Lewis, who is third. Ball State is fourth and Findlay is sixth. The Cards lost their previous match against Ohio State.
"We definitely give them a lot of respect," Walton said.
With two wins over the weekend, BSU has a chance to move up in the MIVA rankings.
"Now with Lewis picking up a loss and Ohio State picking up a loss, we're really only one game out of second place," Walton said.
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