Ball State University Athletics
No. 7 Men’s Volleyball Collect MIVA Awards Ahead of Tournament Quarterfinals on Saturday
April 14, 2022 | Men's Volleyball
Jenness, Isaacson, Mandilaris named to league teams; Cruz tabbed top coach while Jenness earns top player
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association regular season champion Ball State men's volleyball team had four players and its head coach recognized with postseason honors from the league on Thursday.
Senior outside hitter Kaleb Jenness was voted as the MIVA Player of the Year while also earning All-MIVA First Team honors for the third-straight season. Graduate senior setter Quinn Isaacson along with classmate opposite attacker Angelo Mandilaris were both tabbed to the All-MIVA First Team as well, marking it the second-straight season for Isaacson and the first for Mandilaris. Senior middle attacker Felix Egharevba was selected to the All-MIVA Second Team for back-to-back seasons and Donan Cruz was voted MIVA Coach of the Year.
Jenness, was tabbed preseason All-MIVA prior to the start of the season. Jenness currently ranks second nationally in kills per set (4.69). He leads the Cardinals in kills (352), hitting percentage (.386) and points (5.14). Jenness has turned in a double-digit kill performance 19 times this season including a season best 31-kills against Purdue Fort Wayne on Feb. 17, as he tied Ball State's all-time rally kills record. Jenness earned MIVA Player of the Week honors on Feb. 8 for his performance at BYU. Currently, Jenness leads the MIVA in kills per set (4.69) and in points (5.21). Jenness currently ranks 11th on Ball State's all-time kills list with 1,042.
The nation's leader in assists began the year on the preseason All-MIVA team and has earned All-MIVA First Team honors for back-to-back seasons. Isaacson has earned MIVA Player of the Week honors twice this year. The senior setter ranks atop of the NCAA and in the MIVA in assists per set with 11.48. He has dished out personal-best 907 assists for the season and currently ranks seventh all-time on Ball State's career top-20 list with 3,055 assists. Isaacson leads the team in service aces with 15 and served up the winning ace against then top-ranked Hawai'i on Jan. 31.
In only one year of action, Mandilaris has made quite the impact on the Cardinals offense earning his first All-MIVA postseason honor. Mandilaris, recently was named MIVA and AVCA National Player of the Week on April 5 for his strong showing offensively but also defensively. He threw down 32 kills off 69 swings for a .333 hitting percentage to help the Cardinals move past McKendree and Lewis both in 3-0 sweeps. Mandilaris currently ranks second on the team in kills (259), second in service aces (11) and second in block assists (32).
A force to be reckoned with on defense, Egharevba has been tabbed to the All-MIVA Second Team for the second time in his career. Egharevba leads the Cardinals with 60 blocks which includes 10 block solos and 50 block assists. He ranks at the top nationally in blocks per set and in the conference with 1.347. Just a year ago, Egharevba dominated play at the net with 16 total blocks against McKendree setting a Ball State men's volleyball rally-scoring era record. This season, Egharevba has turned in two double-digit block performances with 10 against McKendree on Feb. 12 and 12 at NJIT on March. 11. Egharevba has 211 total blocks for his career at Ball State.
In his first season at the helm of the Cardinals, Donan Cruz has restored Ball State men's volleyball historic success and guided his team to the program's first MIVA outright regular season championship title since 1997. The Cardinals shared a piece of the honor in 2002 as well. Under Cruz, Ball State has posted its first 20-win season since 2016 and a national ranking of seventh. Cruz started the year off hot guiding Ball State to back-to-back wins over the 2021 national champion and then ranked No. 1 Hawai'i. The Cardinals also earned a notable win against BYU this year. In conference action, Cruz helped the Cardinals defeat Lewis on the road for the first time 2010 while also winning the two-match series over Ball State's longest rival Ohio State, a feat that hasn't been accomplished since 2014.
The Ball State men's volleyball team enters this year's 2022 MIVA Tournament as the No. 1 seed and will host No. 8 Quincy in quarterfinal round in Worthen Arena on Saturday, April 16 at 7 p.m. ET.
MIVA Player of the Year
Kaleb Jenness – Ball State, Outside Hitter, Senior
Donan Cruz – Ball State, 1st Season
MIVA Newcomer of the Year
Parker Van Buren – Loyola Chicago, Opposite, Redshirt, Freshman
All-MIVA First Team (listed alphabetically by school)
Quinn Isaacson – Ball State, Setter, Graduate Student
Kaleb Jenness – Ball State, Outside Hitter, Senior
Angelos Mandilaris – Ball State, Opposite, Graduate Student
Tyler Mitchem – Lewis, Middle Blocker, Graduate Student
Diego Negron – Lindenwood, Outside Hitter, Redshirt-Senior
Cole Schlothauer – Loyola Chicago, Outside Hitter, Redshirt-Junior
Parker Van Buren – Loyola Chicago, Opposite, Redshirt-Freshman
Garrett Zolg – Loyola Chicago, Setter, Redshirt-Senior
Patrick Ross – McKendree, Outside Hitter, Graduate Student
Jacob Pasteur – Ohio State, Outside Hitter, Sophomore
Jon Diedrich – Purdue Fort Wayne, Outside Hitter, Junior
Troy Gooch – Purdue Fort Wayne, Libero, Senior
All-MIVA Second Team (listed alphabetically by school)
Felix Egharevba – Ball State, Middle Blocker, Senior
Kevin Kauling – Lewis, Setter, Junior
AJ Lewis – Lindenwood, Outside Hitter, Junior
Andrew Lyons – Loyola Chicago, Outside Hitter, Redshirt-Junior
Henry Payne – Loyola Chicago, Outside Hitter, Redshirt-Senior
Ethan Carroll – McKendree, Outside Hitter, Graduate Student
Francisco Comas – McKendree, Libero, Senior
Ryan Serrano – McKendree, Setter, Redshirt-Senior
Samuel Clark – Ohio State, Middle Blocker, Junior
Martin Lallemand – Ohio State, Outside Hitter, Senior
Bryce Walker – Purdue Fort Wayne, Middle Blocker, Sophomore
Rico Wardlow – Purdue Fort Wayne, Middle Blocker, Junior
