Saturday night marked the end of an era for Ball State Men’s Volleyball. Ending a 31-year career, Joel Walton spent his final few hours as head coach of the Cardinals.
Head coach Joel Walton was on the verge of tears. Not of sorrow, but of joy — it was the last match of his coaching career inside Worthen Arena.
Ball State Women’s Volleyball head coach Kelli Miller Phillips described lone senior outside hitter Kia Holder’s performance as her on fire and said how proud of her she was, as she played her last two matches of her career.
Growing up in Hamilton, Indiana, Cait Snyder had aspirations of playing volleyball in college. The only problem was Hamilton was not the ideal place for student-athletes to get noticed.
The Golden Flashes came into Muncie and defeated the Cardinals twice in fewer than 24 hours. Kent State won both matches 3-2 and 3-1, respectively.
There hadn't been a regular season sweep between the two rivals since 2017, and the Cardinals made sure to keep it that way in what was a historic Thursday night for senior setter Quinn Isaacson.
Sometimes, there’s no place like home. Ball State (7-4, 4-3 MIVA) had been accustomed to its home court for a while, not leaving Worthen Arena since Jan. 23.
At the end of the night, it was the Buckeyes (5-6, 4-3 MIVA) standing tall with the 3-2 victory and the upset win over the Cardinals (7-2, 4-1 MIVA).
However, the two-week hiatus did not stop Ball State’s (7-1, 3-0 MAC) momentum. The Cardinals swept Lindenwood (3-6, 0-6 MIVA) in two matches Saturday (25-23, 25-13, 25-20) and Sunday (25-20, 25-21, 25-22).
The famous quote, “There’s no place like home,” has not resonated with the Cardinals (5-5 MAC) these past two weeks.
Friday and Saturday marked the 110th and 111th all-time meetings between the two schools dating back to 1980. For the first time since 2018, the No. 15 Cardinals got back into the winning column against Purdue Fort Wayne.
"Nerve-wracking" was the feeling going through sophomore outside attacker Bryce Behrendt’s head when he made his Ball State home debut in the first match of a back-to-back home series against Lincoln Memorial (1-4, 0-0 IVA) Jan. 28.
More than a year since winning the 2019 Mid-American Conference Title, Ball State Women’s Volleyball (4-0 MAC) hasn’t missed a beat through its first four games of its delayed 2021 season.
After a 12-6 2020 campaign cut short by nine matches dashed hopes of a potential NCAA Tournament bid due to COVID-19, Ball State Men’s Volleyball is entering 2021 with the same aspirations it had a year ago.
Now, just over 6 miles away from her former high school, the defensive specialist/setter looks to bring her competitiveness to the Cardinals as she prepares for her first season with Ball State Women’s Volleyball.
Not only did Turner have to adjust to a new lifestyle in college while simultaneously acclimating himself to a new volleyball team, but he also had to face a long-lasting issue beyond the court as one of the only African Americans in the program.
Due to the postponement of all Mid-American Conference fall sports, Ball State Women’s Volleyball won’t return to the court until next spring at the earliest. However, last season’s MAC Championship was the beginning of a new era for the Cardinals.
On March 12, the Mid-American Conference made the announcement it would be canceling regular season, championship and non-traditional competition for the rest of the 2019-20 academic school year in concern with the coronavirus (COVID-19). Here is how Ball State athletes and coaches reacted to the announcement.
Taking advantage of their home comforts, the Cardinals defeated Sacred Heart 3-0 to begin a three-match series against non-MIVA opponents.
Don’t ask sophomore outside attacker Kaleb Jenness about a “sophomore slump.” Leading Ball State Men’s Volleyball in kills with 233 this season — 49 more than his freshman year — Jenness’ 20 Wednesday helped give the Cardinals a 3-1 victory over Ohio State.
