Ball State University Athletics
Volleyball Unveils 2016 Schedule
June 07, 2016 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Ball State women's volleyball first-year head coach Kelli Miller announced the team's 30-match schedule for the 2016 season, which is highlighted by 13 home matches and four contests against in-state opponents.
“We are really looking forward to the start of the season,” Miller said. “While we lost a lot of experience to graduation, we have a strong core of returning players who are hungry and excited for the opportunity to play bigger roles. We have a talented group which loves to compete, and we will need that fight versus every opponent on our schedule.”
The Cardinals open the 2016 campaign by traveling up I-69 to play in the IPFW Invitational (Aug. 26-27). In the season premiere, Ball State will face Youngstown State in a 4 p.m. Friday (Aug. 26) match on Arnie Ball Court. Day two of the event sees the Cardinals battle Murray State, before facing its first of four in-state opponents in tournament host IPFW.
Ball State welcomes its second in-state foe to Worthen Arena for the 2016 home opener, when IUPUI travels up I-69 for a Wednesday, Aug. 31 showdown. The Cardinals then travel to Omaha, Neb., for the Omaha Classic (Sept. 2-3) with also features the hosts Mavericks, Drake and South Dakota.
The Cardinals return home Wednesday, Sept. 7, for its second and final midweek contest of the season, when in-state foe Butler visits Worthen Arena to renew a rivalry which has not seen a match since the 2006 season. Ball State closes the week by traveling to the Morehead State Invitational (Sept. 9-10), which also features the host Eagles, Northern Kentucky and Appalachian State.
Ball State's final preconference weekend has the Cardinals hosting the Ball State Invitational (Sept. 16-17). The team will play UNCG and in-state foe Valparaiso Friday, before closing the tournament Saturday versus Ohio State, which advanced to the round of 16 in the 2015 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship.
Ball State opens its 16-game Mid-American Conference slate with three consecutive home matches, starting Sept. 23 versus Central Michigan. During league play, the Cardinals will play home-and-home matches versus each of the other five MAC West Division programs, while playing each MAC East Division squad once. Of its six cross-divisional matches, the Cardinals will host Kent State (Oct. 14), Ohio (Oct. 15) and Akron (Nov. 6), while traveling to Buffalo (Oct. 1), Bowling Green (Oct. 21) and Miami (Oct. 22).
The 2016 MAC Volleyball Championship runs Nov. 17-20 and will be played at Northern Illinois, who captured the 2015 MAC regular season championship to earn hosting rights for the eight-team event. The winner of the conference tournament earns the league's automatic berth into the 36th Annual NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship which begins Friday, Dec. 2.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @VBCoachMiller on Twitter.
- BallStateSports.com -
