Before the weekend began, Ball State coach Randy Litchfield hoped his team would be “massively successful” over the two weekend matches. What he got was two convincing 3-0 victories and a better idea on where his team stood.
On Friday, the Cardinals (2-0) faced Southern Methodist (1-1) in Worthern Arena during the first game of the Nike/Active Ankle Classic. BSU and SMU traded early leads, but only the third game was close.
“I thought they were really good up to point 15,” Litchfield said. “And we were real dominant from point 15 on. I will take that condition any day. I’d rather finish well.”
In the first game, the Cards and SMU went point for point, with neither team gaining more than a three-point advantage. Then, when the score was 22-21, Ball State, on the backs of Rachel Refenes and Kirby Gibson, went on an 8-1 run to close the game. A similar run occurred at the 14-13 point in the second match, which helped the Cardinals take game two 30-18. Game three was much closer, with the Cardinals winning 30-26.
“I noticed some opening-match jitters,” Litchfield said following the match Friday. “We’re a little rough around the edges. But overall, we were pretty solid.”
The following night, the Cardinals took on Wright State (0-2), who fell to SMU earlier in the day. Against the Raiders, the Cardinals came out to shine, winning easily and hitting a team average of over .300 in the final two games.
Sarah Obras, who ended last season with an ACL injury on November 10, returned to play this weekend. Her first match back was less than spectacular, with only seven kills and .160 percent, well below her 2004 averages.
“It was a little rocky at first, but I’ve never had as much fun playing volleyball in my life,” Obras said. “I wasn’t as happy as I wanted to be [on Friday], but I would feel just as happy because our team did well. That’s how good our team is this year, someone can have a mediocre night, and we still win 3-0.”
On the second day, Obras was more successful, still only recording seven kills but leading the team with 18 digs, and she seemed to be playing with much more ease.
“This was an awesome, awesome weekend,” Obras said. “It’s a miracle, in my eyes, that God has blessed me to be able to play like I did this weekend.”
“That adrenaline is an amazing natural drug,” Litchfield added. “It kicked in for her this weekend, and she’s really excited to be playing.”
It was also a new start for Angie Parrell, who was the team’s primary setter for the first time during the fall season. She recorded 24 assists and eight kills against SMU, both career highs, then broke her career high for assists the following day with 33 assists.
“I felt like it went really well,” Parrell said. “All the success is thanks to the passing. The passing’s been really good. They get the ball up there so I can get it to the hitters.”
While Parrell had a decent start, Litchfield said that Parrell could use a little work.
“I think she is kind of the mircocosm of the team,” Litchfield said. “She’s very athletic, she’s got tons of ability, she’s a little rough around the edges.”
Litchfield also cited Brittany May’s stand-out performance this weekend. May added eight kills, four block assists and a solo block in two games against the Raiders.
“What Brittany’s done in practice for three weeks has been really eye-opening, and we’re going to have to find a way to play her,” he said.
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