Ball State University
21-3,13-2MIVA
No. 8 Quincy
4-19,0-15MIVA
Men’s Volleyball Advances to MIVA Tourney Semifinals With 3-0 Sweep Over Quincy
April 16, 2022 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - The top-seeded Ball State men's volleyball team (21-3) prevailed once again Saturday night in Worthen Arena as they earned a 3-0 sweep over the eight-seeded Quincy Hawks (4-19) in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament quarterfinals.
It marks the second-straight season that Ball State will advance to the semifinal round which will be played Wednesday, April 20, at 7 p.m. ET in Worthen Arena against fourth-seeded Lewis.
.?@CoachDonanCruz? thought it was a good match tonight and looks forward to the ?@MIVAVolleyball? tourney semifinals Wednesday in Worthen Arena?? pic.twitter.com/qErmb0djd2
— BSU Men's Volleyball (@BallStateMVB) April 17, 2022
Like any top-seeded team in a tournament, the Cardinals dominated play over the Hawks in the opening frame of action taking an impressive 3-1 lead to start the match. Ball State would go up by as many as five (17-12) off a block assist from Angelos Mandilaris and Felix Egharevba. The Cardinals remained in control eventually cruising to a 25-17 win in set one which was capped off by a Kaleb Jenness kill.
Set two was a bit dicey for the Cardinals as the Hawks turned the page starting the second set with a 3-1 advantage over Ball State. The Cardinals eventually knotted the second set 13-13 and Bryce Behrendt continued to serve up three more points along the way to give Ball State the 17-13 edge versus Quincy. After that, the Cardinals stayed atop of the Hawks and took set two, 25-10 after a hard-hit Egharevba kill.
Ball State played out of its mind in the third set building a quick 15-5 cushion over Quincy. At one point, the Cardinals as a team had 10 kills off 12 swings for an .833 accuracy at the net. Mandilaris, Quinn Isaacson, Behrendt, Egharevba and Vanis Buckholz along with Jenness were all playing out of their minds offensively and the Hawks didn't stand a chance to make any kind of comeback. The Cardinals went on to win the third set 25-11 and the match.
The 2022 MIVA Player of the Year proved to be just that tonight as Jenness led all players with 16 kills. All-MIVA First Team honoree Mandilaris registered a 10-kill performance while Second Team All-MIVA selection Egharevba led the squad with six blocks. Isaacson, who also earned All-MIVA First Team accolades dished out 30 assists.
As a team, the Cardinals had one of their better hitting performances with 42 kills off 78 attacks for a .436 hitting percentage.
