18 Quotes by Joel Walton

Practice Wednesday was pretty good. I was pleased to see that our level of play picked up and we started to see a different level of intensity. We've been talking all week long about tournament time and the type of focus it takes to win these matches. You've got to be able to find your rhythm and get out and still execute at a high level.

This is a really critical match. Our focus this week will be square on Loyola. We have to beat them at home.

This is a chance for people to be exposed to Ball State volleyball and for us to expand the interest in the sport. We're giving Central State a chance to play a high-caliber team.

They are a very good team. Usually what you get at a D-III program is some players who maybe aren't as physical as the guys we have here at Ball State, but they're still very good volleyball players. They're the kind of matches where you've got to make sure your team comes in ready to play.

It's a very experienced team. Yet the advantage we have is that we know what their offensive system is that and how they attack the ball.

St. Francis is a good team. They are a team that could begin to vie for East Coast championships. They are a team that can compete with us.

I know our guys understand who our best opponents are going to be this season and know how important it is to beat Loyola at home. The goal we've set this season is to win the regular-season championship. Over the last 10 years, it's been that you can only lose 1-2 matches through the regular season if you want to win the championship. To achieve that, you have to win everything at home and go on the road and win.

Hopefully we're going to be able to give them a punch in the mouth right away. And take some of the wind out of their sails, jump on top of them and keep stomping on them and never let them up. That's the kind of performance I hope to see.

Heart breaking, absolutely heartbreaking, to lead in every statistical category and lose is mind-boggling. We had good effort from everybody. It wasn't the prettiest match. It was one point here, one point there.