Life is changing in a big way for the Ball State women's volleyball team. At 13-3 overall and 3-1 in conference play, coach Steve Shondell has guided his team to a first-place tie atop the Mid-American Conference West Division.
The days of being under the radar are gone for the Cardinals. In its place are days of being a target.
"We have to get comfortable with playing as a team to beat," Shondell said. "We can't get complacent, though. The mental part of the game is important."
Complacency could be a legitimate concern for Ball State as it travels to Toledo today coming off two big wins over the weekend.
"We came out flatter than an IHOP pancake in practice Tuesday after a couple days off," Shondell said. "We don't need to get too complacent and be smacked in the mouth again like we did against Wright State."
While winning can create a sense of lethargy, the team feels it's focused and ready to play. Junior defensive specialist Kaylee Schembra said the team is placing less pressure on itself.
"We expect to win. We expect it from ourselves, and now that we are winning we're having more fun," Schembra said. "We all want to keep winning. We know how good we can be, so we're going to stay focused."
Not acting overconfident will be important against Toledo. The Cardinals hold a dominating 53-4 record all-time against the Rockets. Despite this record, Toledo always comes ready to play Ball State.
The memory of the end of the 42-match win streak over Toledo in 2008 is still fresh in many minds.
"Toledo always wants to beat us. We always have a target on our back when we play them," senior libero Alyssa Rio said. "This is good for us. We've never been a team that has had a target on our back.
"I think it's going to make us want it more and play harder."
Ball State won't be able to walk over Toledo, however. Earlier this season Toledo beat No. 12 Michigan, showing it can play with the best teams in the nation.
That hasn't escaped Shondell. Neither has Toledo's ability on offense, utilizing quick-strike attacks.
"Toledo has been competitive all year. They've just come up on the short end of it," Shondell said. "We're going to have to play extremely well and defend their slide attacks to come away with the win."
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