Ball State University didn't quite show the consistency this weekend that coach Mike Fleck would have liked, but the Cardinals still played well enough to finish in second place out of 19 teams in the Hoosier Invitational hosted by Indiana University.
Ball State completed a three-game sweep of Miami on Sunday with a 17-8 victory. The Cardinals (11-15, 5-1) have won both MAC series this year and are on a four-game winning streak.
Ball State has three matches remaining with Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association schools to improve its seeding before the MIVA tournament, which is less than three weeks away.
Despite the win, doubles plagued the Cardinals' performance once again. The team lost two out of three matches and was forced to come up with four wins in singles.
A notebook from Ball State's home opening series against Miami.
Butler (33-4) will be a 6½-point underdog when it plays for its first national title — in its hometown no less — and its proud fans will be thrilled no matter what the final score is. Top-seeded Duke (34-5) is a three-time national champion, so accustomed to playing on the biggest stage that its last appearance nine years ago in the title game is considered a lifetime.
Middles attackers J.D. Gasparovic and Anders Nelson led the team in kills with eight. IPFW (9-15, 2-8 MIVA) was unable to force Ball State to use its outside attackers like it did in their earlier encounter this season in Muncie.
Rain has delayed the start to Saturday's game between Ball State University and Miami University.
One big storyline of today's matchup is Butler's status as a mid-major. Neither team, however, was willing to consider this a "small school versus big school" matchup. In fact, Butler sophomore Shelvin Mack said it was a media creation.
Playing basketball in a football stadium like Lucas Oil can be challenging. Lucas Oil Stadium will provide a much deeper background than the Bulldogs see in Hinkle Fieldhouse. Shooters often rely on depth perception to line up and make shots, and a larger arena can wreak havoc on that effort.
The Cardinals (20-6) will also look for a little respect nationally. After receiving seven votes in last week's USA Today/National Fast Pitch Coaches Association Top 25 poll, Ball State didn't receive a single vote in this week's poll, despite defeating IUPUI 11-4 in its only game of the week on Tuesday.
The Cardinals (10-15) scored six in the fourth inning and coasted to their third-straight victory. Starting pitcher Cal Bowling (1-3) took advantage of the big inning for his first win of the season. RedHawks starter Brooks Fiala (2-2) took the loss.
Forget the last 19 matches. It is all just preparation at this point. Come today, the Ball State University men's tennis team will see if all the hours it put in have paid off. Ball State's Mid-American Conference campaign begins with a match at home against the University of Toledo.
Including today's match at Northern Illinois University, five of the last six matches of the season for Ball State will be played on the road. And for Ball State, which has gone an ice cold 0-4 on the road this season, the prospect of trying to get back to a winning record doesn't look bright.
Ball State has won back-to-back games for the first time this season. It will look to win its second consecutive series today at 1 p.m. with Cal Bowling on the hill.
After a solid performance at last week's Polar Bear Invitational at Indiana Wesleyan University, the Ball State University track and field team is looking to improve itself going into this weekend's meet at Purdue University.
Each week, The Ball State Daily News sports staff picks its PPQ — the player, play and quote of the week. And, with the help of our online readers, the weekly fan choice is also featured. To vote in next week's poll, be sure to visit Monday's online edition of The Ball State Daily News.
Some Butler students were considered "priority students" and given first dibs at noon on Monday to get their Final Four basketball tickets. Several of those students, however, ruined the slight chances of the other non-priority students to get their tickets by sharing the tickets link to their friends.
Since the season began Feb. 19, the Cardinals (8-15) have played all 23 games on the road, visiting teams in seven states. So the team is understandably excited about its home opener Friday at 3 p.m. against Miami University (11-12).
Check out the capsules of the Final Four teams as they embark on Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium for the 2010 Final Four.
