Playing at home against one of its biggest conference rivals, coach Joel Walton is making sure to get every possible benefit from a home crowd.
The coach said Wednesday that he secured another advantage for his No. 14 Ball State University men's volleyball team.
With Ball State playing Ohio State University on Friday at Worthen Arena, the school's pep band will make its debut performance at a men's volleyball match.
"There is something about having a band that makes it feel more like a college event," Walton said. "I'm glad we are going to have them there."
In his 11th season as Ball State's head coach, Walton said he could not remember the band playing at a men's volleyball match.
The coach also said he had always wanted to have the pep band play at the home matches, but previous band directors had turned down his offer. At the start of this school year, though, Assistant Director of Bands Dan Kalantarian approached the team about playing at a match this season, Walton said.
Before arriving at Ball State in 2006, Kalantarian was the band director at the University of Hawai'i and a student at UCLA - two schools with men's volleyball programs.
"I'm thrilled to have a band director here who wanted be part of our program," Walton said.
In eight home matches this season, Ball State (13-7, 4-3 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) averages a conference-best 1,319 people in attendance. The Cardinals also have averaged 1,513 people for the last three home matches against the Buckeyes.
With the band playing at Friday's match, Walton said it should help improve Ball State's match environment.
"There is just something about the Ball State band being there and playing our fight song," Walton said. "The band typically has even better cheerleaders than the general student population. ... I'm excited to see what they will bring to our already stellar match environment."
The band will perform before the match, in between games and following the match, Walton said. The coach also said the team will continue to play the music that it usually plays between points when the band is not in attendance.
Friday will be the second match between the Cardinals and Buckeyes (9-9, 5-1 MIVA) this season. In their previous match about two weeks ago, first-place Ohio State won in five games for Ball State's first conference loss.
It also will be the first time Ohio State has played at Worthen Arena since defeating Ball State in the MIVA championship match last season. In that match at Columbus, Ohio, the Ohio State Pep Band played as the Buckeyes won in three games to advance to the NCAA Final Four.
Ohio State coach Pete Hanson said he always looks forward to playing at Worthen Arena because it is a good match environment. Hanson, who played for Ball State in the late-1970s, also said he prefers having his team play in front of larger crowds and a band for road matches.
"At least there is going to be energy and excitement in the building," he said. "Playing with energy, music and noise is as much help for the road team as it is the home team."
Following the Ohio State match, Ball State will have three more regular season home matches, including a match against No. 8 Penn State University on April 17.
Walton said the Pep Band will most likely perform when the Cardinals play the defending NCAA Champions Penn State Nittany Lions. He also he said hopes the band will be able to come to more matches in future seasons.
"These two matches are going to be an opportunity to see how it works," he said.
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