Ball State University's women's volleyball team came together as an offense last weekend.
So now the team is working on defense. Over the past few days in practice, the Cardinals (10-6, 4-2 in the Mid-American Conference) have been putting an increased focus on blocking.
"A lot of blocking, the footwork," sophomore Brittany May said.
While the Cardinals are second in the MAC in blocks per game, over the weekend the Cardinals were out blocked by Ohio and only had eight total blocks against Toledo.
"Blocking is crucial to our team," May said. "Without the blocks the defense doesn't know where to go. We have an awesome defense but to up our defense we need a good block."
Among the hitters the Cardinals will have to block this weekend will be Kate McCullagh of Northern Illinois (10-10, 3-3 MAC) and Shaylen Jackson of Western Michigan (10-6, 3-3 MAC). McCullagh is first in the MAC in kills per game and Jackson is third.
"When we set our mind to it we are pretty good at focusing our block on certain players," coach Randy Litchfield said.
The long road trip this weekend will feature stops in Kalamazoo, Mich. and DeKalb, Ill, which are about 200 miles apart. The long bus rides to, from and between their locations will help the team bond together, which has been something Litchfield has been working with the team on the past couple weeks.
"The road is so much better for bonding and getting together and having fun," he said. "When you're at home and you really need to work on your team chemistry, there's not a lot of time to do it. There's a lot of distractions
"I enjoyed the road trip last weekend. I thought it was great for us. I don't see any problem with another weekend of that."
Junior Kirby Gibson said the team has already turned around some of their team chemistry problems.
"When we're in hotels we hang out with each other now," she said. "Just trying to make it so that we play better on the court."
The road trip will be the last multiple day trip for the Cardinals until November, as the Cardinals are at home the next two weekends.
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