The 11-3 record for Ball State's women's volleyball team is the second-best start in program history, trailing only the 12-2 mark the Cardinals had in its first 14 games of 1973.
Despite the early season success, coach Steve Shondell said his team will face many challenges during Mid-American Conference play.
Ball State knew it would be overshadowed by Western Michigan and Ohio, two teams that have dominated the MAC the past couple of seasons. The discussion may still be centered on the Broncos and Bobcats, but other teams are having successful seasons as well.
"The West is definitely crazy this season," Eastern Michigan coach Kim Berrington said.
The MAC West boasts three teams in the RPI's top 100 and four teams with double-digits in wins. All six are in the top 141 of the 330 Division I teams. Western Michigan is 50th to lead the MAC.
Ball State is fourth in the MAC with an 88th-place RPI, and it has the third most wins in the conference.
Northern Illinois, which is ranked 76th in the RPI, leads the MAC with 15 wins.
"Our division is just stacked," Shondell said. "It's just going to be tough every night. Winning on the road is going to be important this year. Road wins in this league this year are a great accomplishment and could be the key to who wins the West."
The East has three teams with double-digit wins but has only one team in the top 100 of the RPI. Ohio ranks 58th in the RPI, 98 spots ahead of its closest division competitor.
"This might be the toughest the MAC has ever been," Shondell said last week before the start of the MAC schedule. "It could be the best start in MAC history, collectively."
What is the RPI?
The Rating Percentage Index measures a team's strength of schedule and how that team has performed against. It is composed of three parts: the team's winning percentage (25 percent), its opponents' winning percentage (50 percent) and its opponents' opponents' winning percentage. The system gives more weight to wins on the road than at home and margin of victory is not considered. Adding those three numbers gives a team's RPI — the closer to 1.0, the better — and teams are ranked from highest to lowest.
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