Ball State fell to 2-8 on the season following a 3-1 loss to Western Kentucky Friday in the Cardinals' first match in the Alyssa Cavanaugh Classic. They are set to face East Tennessee State at Noon Sept. 16.
Ball State leaves Dayton with a six-match losing streak and a 2-7 record, the Cardinals’ slowest start since head coach Kelli Miller Phillips’ debut campaign in 2016.
The loss extends the Cardinals’ losing streak to four games, and although the skid comes at the disappointment of many around the program, experiencing a mid-season streak of setbacks is far from uncharted territory for coach Miller Phillips.
Ball State (2-4) finished the Blue Jay Invitational winless, falling to Creighton, Northern Iowa and LSU. The Cardinals will attempt to get back on track when they face Wright State (2-4) in their opening match of the Dayton Tournament Friday, Sept. 8, at 5 p.m.
Energized and excited for the fresh campaign, Ball State (1-0) made quick work of Gonzaga (0-2) in a 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-18) sweep of the visiting Zags on Friday in the opening round of the Ball State Invitational – a four-team round robin event also featuring Oklahoma and Purdue Fort Wayne.
A graduate of Muncie Central High School, the two-time reigning Mid-American Conference (MAC) Coach of the Year has guided the Cardinals to two conference titles and the program’s third-ever NCAA Tournament match win in 2021. Along with success, Miller Phillips wants to maintain that “Ball State Tradition” by instilling the same passion in the athletes who take the hardwood.
After 32 games, a regular season championship, an appearance in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament championship and an appearance in the NCAAtournament, it is over. Ball State was swept in straight sets by the no. 4 seed in the Texas Quarter of the bracket, Marquette University.
With the strike of a volleyball with one hand, Ball State Women’s Volleyball (24-8, 15-3) had their dreams of being back-to-back Mid-American Conference tournament champions dashed by Bowling Green (22-9, 15-3).
As the crowd in Worthen Arena rose to its feet, players embraced at half-court. The fans roared as the public address announcer exclaimed Ball State Women’s Volleyball (24-7, 15-3) is going back to the Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship game for the second straight season.
Two pounds of ground beef. One can of tomato paste. Four cups of water. One large onion. Three tablespoons of chili powder. One teaspoon of cinnamon. A half an ounce of unsweetened chocolate. Cincinnati-style chili. Huber and fourth-year middle blocker Marie Plitt are both from Loveland, Ohio, about two and a half hours away from their beloved Cincinnati chili. Huber and Plitt are a pair playing for Ball State Women’s Volleyball.
Snyder’s team-high 12 kills propelled Ball State Women’s Volleyball (23-7, 15-3) past Toledo (18-11, 11-7) in straight sets to claim the program’s 10th regular season Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship.
“We realized what was still in our control and we’re definitely still in a position to win the league and host and be in that first-place spot,” head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. “It is a huge part of our goals and we want to be continuing to rise to them by the end of the year but it feels good to be one step closer.”
Coming into Saturday’s IHSAA Class 4A Volleyball State Championship game, MaxPreps ranked Hamilton Southeastern fourth in the nation and Yorktown fifth; the teams had a combined record of 67-3 this season. They already met this season before this championship showdown; a 5-set encounter that saw Hamilton Southeastern come away with a win.
After finishing runner-up in class 2A volleyball to Barr-Reeve two years ago, the Raiders hoped to capture another state championship for the school out of Selma.
Heading into the final road trip of the year, Ball State commands its own destiny. If the Cardinals can win two out of their three remaining games, the Cardinals will claim the MAC regular season title uncontested by Bowling Green, who is currently 2.5 games behind. With the regular season title, the MAC tournament would be played from Worthen Arena and Ball State would have home court advantage throughout.
For the fourth time in five years, Ball State Women’s Volleyball has reached 20 wins in a season. The Cardinals achieved this feat thanks to a sweep of a deep Kent State team that has had five players win Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Division Player of the Week honors throughout the season.
“Right from the get-go we pretty much had all attackers firing on all cylinders, you know Miami does some unique things defensively and I felt like we just came out not overthinking their defense and just swinging away,” head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said.
Ball State Women’s Volleyball (18-6, 10-2), the top team in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) West Division, swept the first-place team in the MAC East Division, Bowling Green (14-9, 9-3), to sit atop the MAC undisturbed in first place overall Oct. 28.
In a duel of the two winningest programs in Mid-American Conference (MAC) history, Ball State (17-6, 9-2) would set the tone early in its four-set win against Western Michigan (13-10, 5-6), holding the Broncos to a .174 hitting percentage through the first two sets.
Delaware County, Indiana. A population of 114,461 people. Lesser known to a majority of the United States population. A powerhouse in AAU volleyball. Munciana Volleyball Club has experienced success on the travel volleyball club circuit with 38 national championships, 22 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Championships, 15 USA Volleyball Championships and one Junior Volleyball Association (JVA) Championship.
