The flu bug has hit the BG volleyball team, too.
Players Shari Luther, Alex Zlabis, Emily Kauth and Cassie Berning have been said to come down with flu-like and bronchitis symptoms over the last several days.
‘It’s been a rough couple of days,’ said coach Denise Van De Walle. ‘The outcome of this weekend is really going to depend on how the players are feeling. We may have to make some adjustments out there on the floor.’
The Falcons will have a little over 24 hours to regroup as they take on Ball State today and Toledo tomorrow.
The Cardinals enter this weekend at 10-11 (3-5 Mid-American Conference). The Falcons beat them last year in Anderson Arena as well as at their home court.
Ball State has been struggling as of late as they have dropped five of their last seven matches. But they have two top players in Kelsey Brandl and Charde Phillips, who rank second and forth in MAC attack percentage, respectively.
As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 1.49 aces per set, which puts them at second in the conference.
Van De Walle is an alumnus of Ball State.
‘Early on in my career, it was very emotional to play them,’ she said. ‘But as the years went by, it stopped. It doesn’t even enter my mind anymore. To me, it is just another important match.
‘We used to be pretty good rivals with Ball State in the 90s and early 2000s. We were very good, and then they got very good, so it was always a big match when we played.’
Tomorrow, the Falcons will travel up I-75 to take on the Rockets (12-8, 3-5 MAC).
Under first-year coach Greg Smith, Toledo got of to a red-hot start, winning their first nine matches of the season. However, they have struggled as of late, going 3-8 since then.
The Rockets are leading the MAC with 15.92 digs per set, which ranks 60th nationally. The also have one of the top setters in the conference in Kassie Kadera – she leads the conference with 10.99 kills per set, which ranks 39th in the country.
Van De Walle is impressed with Toledo’s first-year head coach. ‘I think they’re having a good year after coming off a couple losing seasons,’ she said.
Like Van De Walle has stressed all season, every match in the MAC can be a dog fight.
‘Any team can go out and beat another team on any given night,’ she said. That’s just how the conference is this season.’
