Ball State University
Lindenwood
Men's Volleyball Set To Host Lindenwood Thursday and Quincy Friday In MIVA Action
February 23, 2022 | Men's Volleyball
Ball State (9-2, 3-1 MIVA) | Lindenwood (3-6, 1-3 MIVA)
Muncie, Ind. | Worthen Arena
Date: Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. ET: Watch: Live Broadcast | Listen: SL Digital | Live Stats
Game 13Â
Ball State (9-2, 3-1 MIVAÂ | Quincy (3-7, 1-3 MIVA)
Muncie, Ind. | Worthen Arena
Date: Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. ET | Watch: ESPN3 | Listen: SL Digital | Live Stats
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Last meeting:Â Ball State 3, Lindenwood 0 (2/21/21)
Series History:Â Ball State leads the series 19-4
Last meeting:Â Ball State 3, Quincy 0 (3/20/21)
Series History:Â Ball State has defeated Quincy in 54 of 59 all-time meetings and has won the last five.
NEW ERA: First-year head coach Donan Cruz has started the year off strong so far this season leading the Cardinals to five-straight wins which includes back-to-back victories over No. 1 Hawai'i … 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 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 LINDENWOOD: Lindenwood comes to Ball State Thursday with a 3-6 overall record and a 1-3 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) ledger. Lindenwood is coming off of a 3-0 loss against McKendree on Saturday, Feb. 19, but did earn a 3-2 thriller over MIVA powerhouse Lewis on Friday, Feb. 18. The Lions are led offensively by outside hitters A.J. Lewis (93 kills) and Diego Negron (92 kills). Ball State won both meetings against Lindenwood last year by a score of 3-0. The Cardinals senior outside hitter Kaleb Jenness led BSU in both matches last season against the Lions with 37 total kills.
SCOUTINGÂ QUINCY:Â Quincy has an overall record of 3-7 and is still looking for its first MIVA victory of the year after falling to Loyola Chicago (0-3), Purdue Fort Wayne (0-3), McKendree (0-3) and Lewis (0-3). The Hawks are led offensively by outside hitter Michael Ladner with 177 kills. Ball State won both matches against Quincy on the road last season, only giving up one set to Quincy. The Cardinals have won 54 of the last 59 meetings against the Hawks and have won the last five straight.
IN THE NATION:Â Despite losing to Loyola Chicago last Saturday, the Cardinals only dropped one spot and are currently ranked No. 8 in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll. The highest Ball State has ever been ranked was No. 5, and that was in the final poll in 1995. Graduate senior setter Quinn Isaacson still ranks first in the nation among his setting peers with 11.90 assists per set while Ball State as a team also holds the top spot for that same category (13.02). Senior middle blocker Felix Egharevba is fourth in the nation in blocks per set (1.325) and Kaleb Jenness is third in attacks per set (9.21) and second in kills per set (4.95).
CARDINAL RECAP:Â Ball State split its MIVA weekend series at home last weekend. The Cardinals took down in-state MIVA rival in a five-set thriller against Purdue Fort Wayne on Feb. 12. Kaleb Jenness turned in a career-best 31-kill performance, tying the Ball State all-time rally kills record. On Saturday, the Cardinals unfortunately fell to Loyola Chicago in four sets for their first MIVA setback of the season.Â
NEXT MATCH:Â The Cardinals will take a break from MIVA action when it plays at NJIT on March 11 at 6 pm ET and at Princeton on March 12 at 5 pm ET.
