After 15 matches of non-conference play, Huskie volleyball is ready to begin playing MAC opponents. The Huskies (14-1) will begin conference play with three matches at home, beginning tonight against Ball State (10-2).

In preseason rankings, the Huskies were picked to finish third in the West behind Central Michigan (6-6) and Western Michigan (9-4). In the East, reigning MAC champion Ohio (8-5) was chosen to top the standings.

“We never read too much into rankings, especially in the MAC,” said senior libero Maddie Hughes. “The first team can lose to the last team, which happened last year. It kind of makes us want to push a little harder.”

The Huskies come into conference play with the overall best record, and are looking to capitalize on their early successes, said ninth-year head coach Ray Gooden.

“Our team is going to try to stay on our mission and what we’re trying to do,” Gooden said. “Hopefully this 15-match stretch helped prepare us for what we’re trying to do. All the teams in our conference are good teams. It means we have to bring our A game on a regular basis.”

With the Huskies taking on Ball State in their first conference match-up, initial focus will be on last year first team All-MAC selection Kelsey Brandl. The junior middle blocker brings in 39 blocks and 129 kills on the year. Junior setter Brittany McGinnis is another talented player on the Cardinals, Gooden said. Thus far, she leads the team with 363 assists and also has 37 kills.

“We know the conference is going to be tough and every match is going to be a dogfight,” Gooden said. “So we are looking forward to that against a really good Ball State team and [then] Toledo team.”

Gooden said every team is competitive and there are standout athletes, but this year the MAC may be dominated by a different group of athletes.

“Central Michigan’s got a player in [Lauren] Krupsky who’s pretty good,” Gooden said. “Ball State’s got a talented setter in [Brittany] McGinnis. Everyone has their good players. But I really do feel that there are some significant underclassmen- not talking about someone on our team- that are going to make some significant contributions throughout this MAC season.”

The Huskies have the most underclassmen in the division with 10, which Hughes said has been beneficial to cohesion.

“I had a lot of confidence going into this season, especially in preseason when we were clicking so well,” Hughes said. “We do have a young group of girls, but it’s a lot that makes up the majority of the team so it has been an easy transition for them. We have a lot of strong players in every position.”

As the lone senior, Hughes has the most experience on the court and will help younger teammates keep focus on playing conference matches one-by-one.

“We’re just going to try to stay on the same note that we’re on now,” she said. “I don’t want to put too much pressure on one game over the next because every game is just as important as another one. We always talk about leaving everything on the court and coming back in the locker room and being proud of what we’ve done. I don’t think that’s going to change from now until the end.”