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September
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14 comments:
This past week I decided to have a little fun with my story. I created a new segment called "under the spotlight." We brought in Head Coach Dave Boos and also one of his players Alisha Green.
We found out some great things about not only them but other players on the team. Green danced for 11 years, all different kinds of styles. Also one of her most embarrassing moments she had was being hit in the head with volleyball during a game.
Coach Boos told us some very interesting things also. He would love to be able to fly and that he LOVES to fold laundry! I couldn't help but laugh a little when he told us that.
It was great to go past the athlete and coach titles, and just find out who they really are. I can't wait to bring in other athletes and coaches from other teams so we can put them "UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT!"
This could be the turn around that everyone has been expecting from the Women's Volleyball Team. On Thursday the team swept Toledo for the 21st time in the series between the two teams. Additionally, it extends Ball State's win streak to 42 matches in a row.
More importantly the team has now won two consecutive matches and have a good chance to extend this to a three match winning streak when they travel to Buffalo to take on the Bulls.
The team seems to be clicking on all cylinders and finally Dave Boos system is setting in. Now that things are starting to take shape, the Cardinals could pose a threat to any team in the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
Right now the team is 6-11. My prediction for the rest of the season? 14-17 going into the MAC tournament and then depending on their draw will be able to advance to the championship match if they are able to avoid Ohio University in the early stages of the tournament.
Congratulations also go out to Elaina Kakatolis, who had a career high .647 attack percentage which is outstanding in volleyball. Kakatolis had a match high 12 kills and helped lead the Cards to a .333 attack percentage for the match.
Stay tuned to see if Dave Boos is able to guide the Cardinals back to glory and claim a MAC championship.
I'm very proud of the women's volleyball team. They've put together a pretty darn good turn around in conference play and I hope that it continues. I really like coach Boos and I think that he took over a program that was in pretty bad shape because so many players left with Randy Litchfield...even so coach Boos has done a nice job of getting his own players in place and turning the team around. I still haven't been to a match this season but I hope to change that very soon. Go CARDS!!
The women's volleyball team has been on a pretty good run as of late. Right now they are 8-12 on the season. Last season at this point they were 3-17. Looks like head coach Dave Boos is trying to get off the hot seat.
However, during their four-match win streak they didn't have to beat a team that is over .500. Now the question is: can they beat really good teams?
I love how the soccer, volleyball, and field hockey teams are having "pink outs" at their games for breast cancer awareness.
Now I don't know if it is allowed or not, but I wish they would have a little more support on their uniforms. Soccer had patches on their sleeves. Volleyball had ribbons in their hair but nothing on the uniform. If they are allowed to wear pink or something during the games, I think they should.
Alyssa Rio was the team's starting libero all of last season. However, this year she is competing with two freshman for that very position this year. One would think that this situation would be very frustrating for Rio... and it probably is. But after talking to her it became apparent that she embraced the competition.
I think it speaks to the maturity of an athlete when that person can set aside their ego and understand the value of earning your spot. Even if you never really did anything to lose it in the first place.
This past week I learned about Charlie's Crew. It's a booster club that head coach Dave Boos started when he arrived at Ball State. Right now the club is more focused on bringing women's volleyball fans closer to the team. They really like to focus giving children a chance to interact with the players.
I think it's a really cool idea. Sports like football and basketball are always going to naturally attract fans. But sports like volleyball need to go the extra mile sometimes and I'm glad to see that Boos is doing that.
They do plan to start doing some fundraising in the next year or so. But for right now it's all about the fans.
For my package I am working on a volleyball story about the transfers on the team and how they are finding a home at Ball State. The interviews went pretty well and I am currently collecting b-roll for my package. The one thing that was annoying about this week's package was my partner was not able to come to the interview because he had to work. I completely understand but he told me that he would help setup, and he called me in the morning forty-five minutes before our interview when I was just getting into the show to tell me he overslept and could not come setup.
Josh Clark and I hustled to get to the room and get the equipment, and then we hustled to the gym to get our interviews. I am a little unhappy with the background because during our interview the men's volleyball team was practicing. Because of lighting and availability of the players we were not able to go elsewhere. The girls did a nice job and made me work a little bit to get good sound bites. I had to rephrase several questions in order to get a good answer.
Last night the Women's Volleyball time lost in 5 matches to Toledo. It was the first time in 43 meetings that Toledo has beaten Ball State. The two teams seemed evenly matched and it came down to the fifth match of the night and went beyond the 15 points it takes to win the fifth match. Both teams played very well.
The 3-2 loss against Toledo was intense. Ball State seemed to be on their way to a 3-1 win in game 4 but then collapsed. Game 5 came down to the wire also.
It was obviously a devastating loss for the Cardinals. They played well for the most part but couldn't close out when it mattered. Not two mention it was the first time in 42 matches that Toledo has beaten Ball State. Still this volleyball team has improved immeasurably since last year and has most of their key pieces coming back. I know this season isn't over, but next season will be exciting.
Thursday was history in the making. For the first time in 43 matches Ball State lost to Toledo. The Cardinals had won 42 consecutive matches against the Rockets, 21 of which were 3-0 sweeps. The first time Ball State ever lost to Toledo in Worthen Arena and it was an unreal site. The win made Toledo's season. When they celebrated it was almost as if they had just won a MAC championship. It made Toledo's season. Ball State had a chance to lock up a first round home match in the MAC tournament and now will have to win 1 of their final 3 matches to secure a first round home match.
Alyssa Rio, my newest facebook friend, is an absolute joy to interview, and she definitely gave some great insight on the personal side of the women's volleyball team.
- First, the team absolutely loves video games. A Playstation 2 is set up in the women's locker room where the women get their "game on" as Rio stated. Role playing games seem to be the favorite, but racing games are the ones that bring out the competitiveness in them.
- The team is full of absolute jokers, and no person is safe from insults. According to Rio, Green and Sullivan are the best of the jokers, and the range of their jokes are from fashion to the type of food they eat.
- And though it maybe hard to believe, nothing outrageous has ever happened in the hotels at away games. ;)
The Ball State Women's Volleyball team came into the last stretch of their regular season with 4 straight home matches. Winning 1 of the 4 would clinch a first round home match in the MAC tournament. The Cardinals had a great chance to do this especially with the almost given win against Toledo. And now it looks like the momentum will swing the opposite way for the Cards. With a match against Western Michigan the best team in the MAC this season and then a season finale could smell disaster for the team. I know that the team is capable of being one of the best in the MAC but their biggest problem is they don't jump on their opponents when they are down and they can't close out matches. We will see if this changes.
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