When Ball State women’s volleyball plays Bowling Green State University and Miami (Ohio) this weekend, plenty of long rallies should be in store. The three teams top the Mid-American Conference in digs per set, with Bowling Green leading the conference (16.88), followed by Miami (16.31), and Ball State (16.18).
Media reports from Mid-American Conference schools Eastern Michigan University and Kent State University show that universities are experimenting with a new marketing strategy: selling beer at stadiums. Will Ball State see beer at Scheumann Stadium anytime soon? Shawn Sullivan, Ball State’s assistant athletic director for marketing and fan engagement, says there have been discussions but nothing anywhere close to final decisions. “I think it’s always a discussion point, and we’ve certainly had internal discussions about it,” Sullivan said. “But there are several discussion points that may increase revenue and attendance and that’s just one of many options that we talk about.” While there are no plans to sell alcohol in the immediate future, one thing is clear — attendance at Cardinals football games was one of the lowest in the country in 2015.
All of the Ball State men’s basketball games for the 2016-2017 season will be aired on ESPN3.
Only four teams make the Mid-American Conference field hockey tournament, and right now Ball State (6-9, 1-2 MAC) is in that last spot. Half a game back in the standings is Missouri State (7-8, 1-3 MAC), which hosts the Cardinals Friday at 4 p.m. “It’s a must-win game, 100 percent," said senior forward Lexi Kavanaugh. "We have to [win].”
And with Bell dealing with a foot injury, Booker has started the last two games for the Cardinals — and hasn't skipped a beat doing it.
The Cardinals' road trip this weekend is like none they have had so far this season. Saturday, Ball State soccer (12-2-2, 7-0-1 MAC) takes on Kent State (10-1-2, 6-0-2 MAC), the only other unbeaten team in the Mid-American Conference. The winner will be the favorite to win the MAC Regular Season Champion with just one game remaining. The Cardinals also face a 3-11-1 Ohio program (1-7 MAC) Thursday. While they cannot overlook the Bobcats, even with an upset loss the matchup with Kent State will determine which team is first in the MAC.
It was the second loss of the weekend for the Cardinals, who are now 4-4 in Mid-American Conference play (8-14 overall).
Leah Mattingly, Lorina White, Taylor Pooley and Yela Zisweiler. These four defenders should be noted on every team’s scouting report. After all, they've started on the back line in every Ball State soccer game this season, and the Cardinals are on top of the Mid-American Conference standings with a 7-0-1 record (12-2-2 overall), with just 10 goals allowed through 16 games.
Ball State (4-3, 1-2) will look to build on its latest win as it returns home this weekend to take on Akron (4-3, 2-1).
The Cardinals had three turnovers and punted four times in the first two quarters, leading to a 14-7 halftime deficit. It was the fifth time in seven games this season that they have been behind coming out of the locker room.
In the 69th minute of Ball State soccer's win over Toledo, senior midfielder Gabby Veldman knocked in a cross from senior defender Lorina White to put the Cardinals ahead 2-0.
“We were taking soft shots and not shooting on goal well enough,” said junior forward Abbey Main. “We were push-passing a lot when we needed to be hitting harder.”
It didn’t really matter who was at quarterback in the second half for Ball State. As long as they could turn it around and hand it off to running back James Gilbert, they were OK. The sophomore ran 34 times for 264 yards and two touchdowns to lift Ball State (4-3, 1-2 MAC) to a 31-21 win at Buffalo (1-5, 0-2 MAC) on Saturday.
Quarter updates from University at Buffalo Stadium in Buffalo, New York as Ball State (3-3) takes on Mid-American Conference opponent Buffalo (1-4) on Oct. 15.
Ball State women’s volleyball struggled to keep up with Kent State, picking up its third loss in Mid-American Conference play. The MAC rivals fought a hard through all five sets, but the Flashes pulled away in the fifth set to win 3-2 (25-18, 25-23, 16-25, 23-25, 15-6). Head coach Kelli Miller said she saw some improvements in the loss. “I was really happy with our passing," she said. "I don’t think we could have passed much better tonight.
Jake Fox, the Daily News football reporter, is traveling to the game and offered up some insight on the key positional matchups:
After back-to-back losses to start Mid-American Conference play, Ball State (3-3) is looking to get back on track at Buffalo (1-4) this weekend.
Confusion set in as senior goalkeeper Jordan Dues was called back to the net after Ball State field hockey (6-8, 1-2 MAC) had already walked off the field for halftime.
The Cardinals need good placement. That is the main thing sophomore Stephanie McElhaney believes her team needs to improve as her cross country team heads to Bradley University on Oct. 14.
