It's two months before the start of the season, and opposing coaches are already looking forward to going up against first-year coach Steve Shondell and the Ball State University women's volleyball team.
Oakland University coach Rob Beam and University North Carolina coach Joe Sagula said Shondell as a coach adds a new element to non-conference matches, which Ball State officially announced Tuesday.
Ball State will play Oakland in its home opener tournament, the Active Ankle Challenge, on Sept. 3 at Worthen Arena.
"We're very much looking forward to playing at Worthen, especially with coach Shondell coming in. He's a legendary coach, and I think very highly of him," Beam said.
Shondell was named Cardinals' head coach in April after about a one-month coaching search. Prior to coming to Ball State, Shondell won 13 consecutive girl's volleyball state championships at Burris Laboratory School.
Oakland finished last season 17-10, which included victories against Mid-American Conference teams Eastern Michigan University and Bowling Green State University — both teams Ball State lost to in 2009.
In his fourth season as Oakland's head coach, Beam said also he is excited to return to Muncie after competing against the Ball State men's volleyball team as a player and assistant coach.
"This is the first chance I've had to coach as a woman's team [coach] at Ball State since I coached at Quincy in the men's and at Wright State. I'm really familiar with Muncie and excited about returning to a place where there's strong history."
Following this match, Ball State will have three more non-conference matches before traveling to the Tar Heel Classic on Sept. 17 at Chapel Hill, N.C.
North Carolina ended last season 15-16 — the same record as Ball State — and failed to make the NCAA Tournament.
Sagula said he is looking forward to the Ball State match, especially with the possibility of it having a higher attendance because it will be played the night before Tar Heel home football game.
"It's going to be great competition. It's great that Ball State has Steve Shondell as its coach, and it's great that Ball State is coming to North Carolina," Sagula said. "It's really going to be a showcase match between two great volleyball schools."
The Cardinals will also play against Appalachian State University and Temple University in Chapel Hill.
The release of Ball State's 2010 schedule comes two weeks after Shondell first revealed the full schedule to The Ball State Daily News.
One additional contest from the first-reported schedule will be a preseason alumnae match at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 21 at Worthen Arena.
The 2010 schedule was primarily put together by former coach Dave Boos, who resigned March 4 to take an assistant coaching job at the University of Florida.
The 2010 non-conference opponents went a combined 147-220 in the 2009 season. IUPUI and IPFW were the only two schools from 2009 with 20 wins.
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