Even before a doubleheader against Quincy last weekend, IPFW made it known what match the school was really focused on.
As early as March 28, the IPFW athletics page displayed an ad with the Twitter hashtag "#BEATBALLSTATE" in large letters, advertising Saturday's match against Ball State.
If both men's volleyball teams didn't already have enough of a rivalry, IPFW made sure the tension would be heated this weekend.
"IPFW does like to try and get in our heads, so we just try and shake them off and just stay composed," junior setter Dan Wichmann said.
Wichmann said a hashtag in response wouldn't come from Ball State. That doesn't mean he doesn't recognize how high the stakes are.
The matchup comes at a time when the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association is a mess of tiebreakers and confusing scenarios in preparation for the conference tournament in two weeks.
Thinking ahead to postseason play makes the match between Ball State (12-8, 4-5) and IPFW (12-12) critical.
Both teams hold a conference record of 4-5 heading into this weekend. Whichever team wins the match likely will finish above the other in the standings.
At that point, the winning team will be in position to fight with Grand Canyon (15-12, 5-3), which must still play Ohio State and Lewis twice, for the fourth seed.
The entire process makes for a hectic ending to the conference season.
"Seeds one through six are up in the air," coach Joel Walton said. "All of these matches ... are critical."
For Ball State to earn a first-round home match in the MIVA Tournament, Grand Canyon and IPFW will have to lose certain conference matches.
That leaves the Cardinals with no real choice but to watch the scoreboard, and hope circumstances work in their favor.
While that may be true for the fans, freshman outside attacker Shane Witmer said the team isn't worrying about that.
"We're sitting in limbo, the bottom-half, middle of the conference, and that's fine," Witmer said. "I think we need to take care of our business. Everything else will fall into place."
IPFW has the luxury of preparing solely for Ball State this weekend. Things are more complicated for the Cardinals.
Ball State will play No. 9 Lewis (20-6, 6-3) on Friday, a team that has held the top spot in the conference for most of the season.
A 3-0 win by Lewis over Ball State earlier this season was much closer than the score indicates. It featured a record-breaking 44-42 score in the first set that set the tone for the Flyers in the rest of the match.
With both matches paired together, it's evident that Ball State faces immense challenges this weekend. But in order to compete with Grand Canyon and IPFW for a home match in the MIVA Tournament, it will have to meet and overcome them.
"They're not going to give us anything - either of those teams - both nights," Witmer said. "We're going to get done with Lewis, get back here in Muncie at 4 a.m., [and] then we have to turn around and play IPFW the next night. It's going to be a real test, and we're going to have to be ready to play."
Matches
Ball State at Lewis at 7 p.m. (CT) on Friday
Ball State at IPFW at 7 p.m. on Saturday
Projected starting lineup
Middle attackers: Matt Leske, Kevin Owens
Outside attackers: Larry Wrather, Jeff Aucoin, Jamion Hartley
Setter: Dan Wichmann
Libero: Tommy Rouse
Predictions
Ball State loses 3-0 to Lewis, beats IPFW 3-2
Playing at Lewis is already tough enough, but the Flyers have been the MIVA's best team for almost the entire year. It will be incredibly difficult for Ball State to come away with a win. The Cardinals are resilient, though. They already swept IPFW in February, so even though this rematch will be closer, Ball State has the will to prove itself and win in Fort Wayne.
Live Blog
Follow Andrew Mishler's live blog at bsudailynews.com for Ball State's match against IPFW as he reports from Fort Wayne.
For more coverage on men's volleyball, follow @andrewmishler on Twitter.
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