Ball State University
No. 6 Purdue Fort Wayne
Men's Volleyball Hosts Rival Purdue Fort Wayne in MIVA Tourney Title Match Saturday
April 22, 2022 | Men's Volleyball
The Cardinals are the top seed while the Mastodons come to Worthen Arena as the No. 6 seed
Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament Championship
No. 1 seed Ball State (22-3) vs. No. 6 seed PFW (17-12) | Saturday, April 23 (7 p.m. ET) | Muncie, Ind. | Worthen Arena
Live Streaming: ESPN3 | Live Stats | Tickets | Game Notes: Ball State | Purdue Fort Wayne
Last Meeting: April 9, 2022 | BSU won 3-1
THE ROAD TO THE MIVA TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP: Purdue Fort Wayne enters Saturday night's title match of the MIVA Tournament as the No. 6 seed with an overall record of 17-12. The Mastodons took down McKendree in the quarterfinal round by a score of 3-1 before moving past Loyola Chicago in the semifinals in a 3-0 decision on Wednesday in Chicago. The Cardinals are the No. 1 seed and have beaten Quincy (3-0) and Lewis (3-0) to advance to the championship match Saturday night. Ball State won both matches in regular season action against PFW, winning at home on Feb. 17 (3-2) and then on the road in Fort Wayne by a score of 3-1 on April 9, also claiming the MIVA regular season title outright for the first time since 1997.Â
IT'S BEEN 20 YEARS: The last time the Cardinals won a MIVA Tournament Championship was in 2002. That year, Ball State faced off against Loyola Chicago on April 27 in Worthen Arena. Ball State won that match 3-0 over the Ramblers.
THE LAST TIME PFW AND BSU MET IN THE MIVA TOURNEY: The Cardinals have not played against the Mastodons in the MIVA Tournament since 2010 when Ball State defeated Purdue Fort Wayne 3-0 in the quarterfinals. The last time these two teams met in the championship match was in 1994 with Ball State winning that match, 3-0. The Cardinals hold a 5-3 overall mark in tournament action versus the Mastodons and have faced PFW three times in the championship match with the Cardinals leading that series, 2-1.
14 TIMES: Ball State has won the MIVA Tournament title a total of 14 times (1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2002).
NEW ERA: First-year head coach Donan Cruz has started his inaugural season off strong, leading the Cardinals to one of their best showings in program history with an overall record of 21-3 and a No. 7 national ranking … The season began with two wins over then-ranked No. 1 Hawai'i while also defeating nationally ranked BYU … 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.
 POSTSEASON ALL-MIVA: 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 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. Â
IN THE NATION: The Cardinals remained at the No. 7 spot 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 11.43 assists per set while Ball State as a team also holds the top spot for that same category (12.87). Senior middle blocker Felix Egharevba is first in the nation in blocks per set (1.372) and Kaleb Jenness is fifth in attacks per set (9.10) and second in kills per set (4.72).
DO IT FOR DR. DON:Â Dr. Shondell, an iconic figure in the sport of volleyball, founded the men's program at Ball State which earned varsity status in 1964. He spent 34 seasons at the helm and accumulated a career record of 769-280-6 (.732), affording him the second-most wins by a head coach in NCAA men's volleyball history. From 1964-98, Dr. Shondell led the Cardinals to 19 regular season Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) titles, 12 MIVA Tournament championships and 13 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship tournament berths. Dr. Don passed away this past November.
