Ball State University
5-0,0-0MIVA
University of Hawaii
4-2,0-0Big West
Men’s Volleyball Stuns No. 1 Hawai’i Again In Five Sets
January 31, 2022 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - The crowd was electric as the No. 10 Ball State men's volleyball team stunned No. 1 Hawai'i for a second time in a matter of three days. Graduate senior setter Quinn Isaacson served an ace for match point in the Cardinals' five-set (25-18, 22-25, 27-25, 22-25, 15-11) thriller over the Rainbow Warriors Monday night in Worthen Arena.
With the win, Ball State remains undefeated with an unblemished 5-0 mark, while Hawai'i drops to 4-2 on the season.
Tonight's rematch against Hawai'i and Ball State was close from start to finish, consisting of 28 ties and four lead changes.
At first, the Cardinals carried their momentum from Saturday's night's 3-0 sweep into the contest against the Rainbow Warriors as Ball State took the first set in dominating fashion, 25-18, after hitting .750 percent off 20 swings.
The tides then turned in the second frame as Hawai'i and Ball State played neck-and-neck. The Rainbow Warriors prevailed late to take set two from the Cardinals, 25-22.
In the third frame, Ball State and Hawai'i continued to trade points back and forth. Finally, graduate senior outside attacker Angelos Mandilaris' kill made it 26-25, and then a Hawai'i hitting error put the Cardinals back atop of the Rainbow Warriors, 2-1.
The fourth set mimicked the previous two with the Rainbow Warriors taking a late edge to send the match into a fifth frame, 25-22.
Although the fifth set started off close, Ball State went up 4-3 after senior outside attacker Kaleb Jenness' kill. The Cardinals remained in control the rest of the way with some key plays and strong serves from Isaacson down the stretch.
For the match, Mandilaris registered a career best 25 kills off 45 attacks for a .422 hitting percentage. Jenness had a season high 20 kills and true freshman middle blocker Vanis Buckholz finished the night with 13.
Isaacson helped guide the offense by dishing out 65 assists with only two errors while also adding a team-high 15 digs defensively. He also finished the night with five service aces.
The Ball State men's volleyball team will travel for the first time this season when it heads to No. 9 BYU on Friday (Feb. 4) and Saturday (Feb. 5) for 9 p.m. ET first serves.
