Ball State University
University of Hawaii
No.15 Men's Volleyball Welcomes No. 1 Hawai'i to Worthen Arena Saturday
January 28, 2022 | Men's Volleyball
No. 15 Ball State (3-0, 0-0 MIVA) vs. No. 1 Hawai'i (4-0, 0-0 BWC)
Saturday, Jan. 29 | Muncie, Ind. | Worthen Arena
Watch | Live Stats | Tickets
Monday, Jan. 31 | Muncie, Ind. | Worthen Arena
Watch | Live Stats | Tickets
Last meeting: Hawai'i 3, Ball State 0 (3/8/19)
Series History: Hawai'i leads the all-time series 12-3
NEW ERA: The Ball State men's volleyball program will open the Donan Cruz era Thursday night with a 7 p.m. first serve versus Maryville … Prior to taking over the helm of the Cardinals, Cruz was a four-time National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Coach of the Year at Grand View University … Just the fourth head coach in the storied history of Ball State men's volleyball, Cruz led the inaugural Grand View men's team to a 13-13 mark in 2012 season, on his way to compiling a 211-55 overall record with the Vikings … He concluded his Grand View career with the best winning percentage in NAIA men's volleyball history at .793.
ALSO NEW ON THE STAFF:  Joining Cruz on the Ball State staff are Midwestern Volleyball Association (MIVA) standout and former Lewis University star Mike Iandolo and BYU men's volleyball alumnus Christian Rupert … Iandolo was a two-time All-MIVA First Team selection and spent the last three season as the head coach at the University of Charleston … Rupert helped lead the Cougars to a pair of appearances in the NCAA Division I/II Men's Volleyball Championship Match, and following a brief professional career, spent two seasons as a volunteer assistant at Princeton.
SCOUTINGÂ HAWAI'I:Â The 2021 defending national champions come to Worthen Arena for the first time despite these two teams facing one another a total of 15 times. The last time these two teams met resulted in a 3-0 loss for the Cardinals on March 8, 2019. Ball State last defeated Hawai'i on Jan. 13, 2011 by a score of 3-0. Hawai'i comes to Muncie with an unblemished overall record of 4-0 after defeating fellow Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) member Loyola Chicago twice: 3-0 and 3-1 (Jan. 5 & 7). Hawai'i's other victories were 3-0 sweeps over Edward Waters (Jan. 14 & Jan. 16). Leading Hawai'i is sophomore outside hitter Chaz Galloway with 28 kills total while averaging 3.11 kills per contest.
CARDINAL RECAP:Â The Cardinals have opened their season with a 3-0 ledger for the first time since the 2020 season. That year, Ball State started off with a 3-0 record as well. Ball State has earned 3-0 sweeps over Maryville, Tusculum and George Mason. Currently, Ball State is ranked No. 15 in the nation. The Cardinals are led offensively by senior outside attacker Kaleb Jenness with 26 kills and Angelos Mandilaris, who is averaging 5.3 kills per set. As a team, Ball State is hitting .461 percent off of 219 swings.
BALL STATE SWEEPS ALL-MIVA HONORS:Â Ball State graduate senior opposite hitter Angelos Mandilaris and senior outside attacker Nick Martinski swept the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) offensive and defensive players of the week honors. Mandilaris led the Cardinals with a 16-kill performance on 26 swings for a staggering .538 hitting percentage. He also helped defensively with three block assists. Martinski also played a huge roll in the Cardinals' success. He led Ball State defensively with a personal best eight block assists while adding a block solo as well Saturday afternoon against the Pioneers.
NEXT MATCH:Â Ball State will finally take to the road this season when it travels to Ball State assistant coach Christian Rupert's alma mater Brigham Young University for a two-match series on Feb. 4 and Feb. 5. First serve for those matches are 9 pm ET.
