For the first time in more than five years the Ball State University men's volleyball team is ranked in the nation's top seven.
The Cardinals moved up two places in the national coaches poll that was released Monday and are ranked No. 7, the team's highest ranking since it was No. 6 in January 2003.
"It's a great honor and it's been a lot of hard work to get our team back to that point," coach Joel Walton said. "It's not easy to climb this high in the rankings. It's a credit to our players."
In Monday's poll, the Cardinals (14-6, 7-1 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) moved ahead of the University of California at Irvine and the University of Southern California for the first time this season. UC-Irvine dropped two places to No. 8 after losing to No. 9 UCLA, and USC also moved down two places to No. 10 following a home loss against unranked Lewis University.
Ball State has won its last nine matches, including wins against then-No. 15 IPFW and Mercyhurst College during the weekend.
"It's an interesting year. A lot of teams are showing they are capable of winning," Walton said. "This poll shows there are very good teams in our league and weren't not just a one or two team conference."
The Cardinals' next match will be against IPFW at 7:30 p.m. March 21 at Worthen Arena.
Walton said his team will not practice until Sunday and they will have four practices before their rematch against the Mastodons.
"It's a chance for our guys to step away for a week and recharge," he said. "Hopefully they will come back ready for our most critical matches of the season."
Coaches Poll1. BYU (12) 16-12. Cal State Northridge (2) 16-43. Long Beach State (1) 15-24. Penn State (1) 19-15. Pepperdine 8-76. Stanford 14-77. Ball State 14-68. UC Irvine 10-119. UCLA 13-910. USC 9-1111. Ohio State 10-612. George Mason 12-613. UC Santa Barbara 7-1114. Hawai'i 8-9
*Parentheses indicate first-place votes
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