Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Lewis University
Men's Volleyball Opens MIVA Action This Weekend At #6 Lewis Thursday and Visits McKendree on Saturday
February 09, 2022 | Men's Volleyball
No. 10 Ball State (6-1, 0-0 MIVA) at No. 6 Lewis (6-2, 0-0 MIVA) & McKendree (3-3, 0-0 MIVA)
Thursday, Feb. 10 & Saturday, Feb. 12
Live Stats: lewisflyer.com | mckbearcats.com
Live Streaming: Lewis | McKendree
Last meeting: Lewis 3, Ball State 0 (4/17/21) | Series History: Lewis leads the all-time series 34-32
Last meeting: Ball State 3, Lewis 2 (4/3/21) | Series History: Ball State leads the all-time series 10-6
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.
SCOUTING NO. 6 LEWIS: Lewis has started the season with a 6-2 overall record facing four top 10 nationally ranked opponents this year, falling to No. 3 Long Beach State (1-3), #2 Pepperdine (1-3), No. 4 UCLA (3-0) and No. 8 Grand Canyon (3-2). Lewis who is currently ranked sixth in the nation won the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) last year and competed in the NCAA Tourney where the Flyers knocked off No. 6 Penn State (3-0) before falling to No. 2 BYU (1-3). Lewis is led by graduate senior middle blocker Tyler Mitchem who enters the match against the Cardinals with 86 kills including 3.31 kills per set with a hitting accuracy of .500.
The last time the Cardinals defeated Lewis was on March 23, 2019, in Worthen Arena by a score of 3-2. Ball State has not won at Lewis in Romeoville, Ill. since April 6, 2010 resulting in a 3-2 victory for the Cardinals.
SCOUTING MCKENDREE: McKendree owns a 3-3 record but will face Ohio State on Thursday for its MIVA conference opener. McKendree is currently 2-0 at home this season and is led by both graduate senior outside hitters Patrick Ross and Ethan Carroll who each have 56 kills apiece this season. The Cardinals split their two-match series last year over the Bearcats losing 1-3 on April 2 and then pulling off the 3-2 upset on April 3. Last year at McKendree the Cardinals' middle blocker Felix Egharevba had a career best 16 total blocks which was also a program record for most blocks in a single game. He also set the record for the most block assists in a single game as with with 14.
JENNESS AND ISAACSON SWEEP ALL-MIVA WEEKLY HONORS: Ball State senior outside hitter Kaleb Jenness and graduate senior setter Quinn Isaacson were tabbed the Mid-Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) offensive and defensive players of the week. Jenness and Isaacson led the Cardinals to a pair of impressive wins over top 10 opponents last week. The duo helped Ball State complete a two-match sweep over defending national champion and top-ranked Hawai'i on Jan. 31 and then closed out the week on a high note with a 3-1 take down over No. 9 BYU on Saturday. Jenness, who currently ranks second in the country in kills per set (4.70), led the Cardinals offensively last week in their three matches. Isaacson also played a big role in the Cardinals success last week. The graduate senior dished out 65 assists and tallied 15 digs, while running the offense at a .436 clip. Isaacson currently leads the country in assists per set (12.25).
FUN FACT: Current Ball State assistant coach Mike Iandolo was a standout player for the Flyers. During his career as a Flyer, Iandolo was a three-time Delahnty Award and MIVA Academic All-Conference selection at the setter position. He was also a two-time All-MIVA First Team selection. After his playing days with the Flyers, Iandolo spent the 2012-13 campaign as a graduate assistant coach for his alma mater.
NEXT MATCH: After this week the Cardinals will finally return home after being on the road for four-straight matches when Ball State welcomes Purdue Fort Wayne to Worthen Arena on Thursday, Feb. 17 for a 7 pm ET first serve in Worthen Arena. Ball State will then host Loyola Chicago on Saturday, Feb. 19 for a 3 pm ET matinee.
