On Saturday, it took the Cardinals five games to defeat Central Michigan, but senior Amanda McCormick needed all five of these games to set history.
Entering the weekend, McCormick was 77 digs away from having 800 digs for the season, with two games remaining in the Ball State University women's volleyball regular season.
After getting 39 digs in Ball State's three-game sweep of Eastern Michigan University on Friday, McCormick posted 39 digs for the second straight match on Saturday, to finish the regular season with 801 digs.
With 78 digs this past weekend, McCormick becomes the first player in Mid-American Conference history to have over 800 digs in a single season, and is the third player in the NCAA Division I to ever accomplish this feat.
Also, in 103 games this season, McCormick is now averaging 7.78 digs per game and is on pace to set a new NCAA record in this category. The current Division I record is held by former Oral Roberts University player Becky Dreher, with 7.02 digs per game.
"It's crazy, I never really thought I'd be in that position, especially with as many good liberos as there are in the country," McCormick said. "I'm kind of blown away by it."
On Friday the Cardinals defeated Eastern Michigan 30-27, 30-28, 30-28, and on Saturday beat Central Michigan 27-30, 30-26, 28-30, 30-27, 15-7.
With these two wins this weekend, Ball State finishes the conference regular season on a five-game winning streak.
Earlier in the conference season the Cardinals were swept by Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan on back-to-back days. Since those losses Ball State has lost one game, going 5-1 in its past six games.
"I thought we had a lot of energy, a lot more than the last time we played this [CMU]," Kirby Gibson said.
The Cardinals finish the conference season at 8-8, and enter the MAC Tournament as the No. 6 seed.
The weekend sweep also gives Ball State home field for its first-round game against No. 11 Buffalo University on Tuesday night.
"We got our spirit back," McCormick said. "We are no longer lifeless. We have a lot of life in us."
In addition, the current winning streak has given coach Randy Litchfield more confidence in his team, especially later in matches.
"We are so much better now than we have been because we are playing the tough points better," Litchfield said. "It feels like after point 25 we are buckling down and playing games five well. It's that time of the year [when] no one is going to quit."
Saturday's game against Central Michigan was also Senior Night for the Cardinals, and marked the last regular season home game for Stephanie Bacan, Kelly Cochran, Gibson and McCormick. Litchfield presented each senior with a framed jersey, and Stephanie Bacan received her favorite pair of socks because she was a "super senior."
"It's such a good feeling for my family to come here, especially with us winning and everyone playing so well," said McCormick.
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