It's the day before a weekend of back-to-back men's volleyball matches and head coach Joel Walton's squad has been forced to practice in a different venue.
Normally practicing in Worthen Arena, the Cardinals are now in Irving Gym because the Harlem Globetrotters took to the hardwood for Thursday night's show.
Walton said it was not a distraction for his team.
"It's not an issue. We used to practice on the balcony and when basketball ended we'd be able to come down to the main floor," Walton said.
The Cardinals host Springfield College this year in the matches and next year they will compete in the Hall of Fame Classic, one of the better tournaments in the country.
Springfield College has a younger team, having graduated several players off last year's roster.
"The significant attacker they have back is Eric Palumba. He is their big hammer and gets a lot of their team's offense and big sets."
Ball State's other focuses are going to be improving offense and blocking and improving the lax play from last weekend.
"I was really displeased with how we played last weekend," Walton said. "We seemed to be waiting to see if Carthage was going to show up and compete."
Walton said he also wants variety in the offense, both in the type of plays they run and the hitters they set the ball to.
"By doing that, we become a really hard offense to stop," Walton said.
With the Cardinals playing in back-to-back matches, fatigue and injury might worry some fans. According to Walton, however, the team is well-conditioned and really has no significant injuries. Freshman Ryan Clarke has been nursing a knee ailment, while Mark Termion injured his thumb in last week's match but won't be kept out of match play.
"We're still not where we want to be," Walton said. "We've got a lot of things to improve: our blocking, and team offense and just in general our daily work ethic. Hopefully we'll get to where we want to be by the time we're in our league and playing some matches that matter the most to what our team's goals are for the season."
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
