Three wins in five days was all it took to get the Ball State University men's volleyball team back in the national rankings.
After a week absence from the top 15 coaches poll, the Cardinals were ranked No. 14 in the newest poll released today.
Ball State received 24 votes - 10 more votes than in last week's poll. Ball State defeated Carthage College on Tuesday at Worthen Arena and had road wins Rutgers-Newark University and George Mason University during the weekend.
"Hard work pays off," coach Joel Walton said. "Going on the road and getting wins says a lot of our team - and poll voters put stock in that."
No. 14 was Ball State's ranking two weeks ago. Prior to having the three-match winning streak, the Cardinals lost three straight conference road matches - all in five games - to drop out of last week's coaches poll.
As a voting member of the coaches poll, Walton said being No. 14 is a fair ranking for his team. The coach also said he ranked Ball State slightly higher in his ballot this week.
The Cardinals were the only team to move into the top 15 poll this week. Ball State replaced Ohio State University, which dropped out of the poll following a loss to George Mason.
The Cardinals' next match will be against the Buckeyes at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Worthen Arena.
Ohio State is in first place in the MIVA and has won its last two matches against Ball State, including a five-game win on March 11.
At the start of the season Walton said he would have been surprised that both teams were not ranked for this conference match.
"There is a lot of parity this year," Walton said. "There are things you can do against them and every team has a weakness to take advantage of."
Coaches Poll1. UC Irvine - 239 votes2. Cal State Northridge - 220 votes3. Pepperdine - 211 votes4. USC - 289 votes5. BYU - 173 votes6. Long Beach State - 156 votes7. Stanford - 143 votes8. Penn State - 137 votes9. UC San Diego - 114 votes10. UCLA - 90 votes11. Lewis - 80 votes12. UC Santa Barbara - 51 votes13. Hawai'i - 47 votes14. Ball State - 24 votes15. Loyola - 17 votes
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