Ball State University
20-3,12-2MIVA
Purdue Fort Wayne
15-12,6-8MIVA
Men’s Volleyball Crowned MIVA Regular Season Champions
April 09, 2022 | Men's Volleyball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Ball State men's volleyball (20-3, 12-2 MIVA) defeated Purdue Fort Wayne (15-2, 6-8 MIVA) 3-1 (33-31, 19-25, 25-22, 29-27) Saturday night in the Gates Sports Center, earning its first Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) regular season crown since the 1997 season. The win also marked Ball State's first 20-win season since 2016 under the direction of first-year head coach Donan Cruz.
With the win, the Cardinals locked up the No. 1 slot in next week's MIVA Tournament where Ball State will host the quarterfinals Saturday against No. 8 seed Quincy in Worthen Arena. First serve is set for 7 p.m. ET.
It had been a fairytale season thus far for the Cardinals, and Ball State added another chapter Saturday night in Fort Wayne.
Ball State managed to battle in a first set that went into overtime, winning the frame 33-31 off back-to-back kills from the Cardinals' veterans Kaleb Jenness and Nick Martinski.
The Mastodons came back in the second set on fire offensively, hitting a whopping .379 percent off 15 kills, while the Cardinals struggled to get anything going on the other side of the net with just seven kills and a .107 attack percentage.
After the break, Ball State regrouped both offensively and defensively. The Cardinals had a late 17-13 edge over the Mastodons in set three to put themselves in good shape to win the frame.
PFW came back to knot the match, 18-18, but Angelos Mandilaris and Jenness changed the momentum with one kill apiece to give the momentum back to Ball State. The Cardinals were then able to close out set three, 25-22, off another Mandilaris kill.
With Ball State up 2-1 in the match, the Cardinals began to taste victory, pushing ahead to a 17-13 advantage late in the fourth frame.
But on its senior night, Purdue Fort Wayne once again battled its way back, tying the game at 20-20. Both teams then went back-and-forth for the next few points, sending the set into OT.
In the extra period, the fourth set was tied again at 27-27, but Vanis Buckholz hit between the Mastodons' block right up the middle to give Ball State back the advantage.
Purdue Fort Wayne's attack by Jon Diedrich was then blocked by Jenness and Buckholz for the win, sending the Cardinals into a frenzy.
Offensively, the Cardinals were led by Jenness, who turned in a 21-kill performance off 46 swings for a .391 hitting percentage, while this week's AVCA National Player of the Week, Mandilaris, registered 15 kills while also serving up four aces.
Veteran setter Quinn Isaacson also played a big part in tonight's offense as he dished out 46 assists while tallying 11 defensive digs and five block assists.
Fans can purchase tickets to the game by calling the Stoops Buick/GMC Ticket Center at 888.BSU.TICKET or 765.285.1474 to join the Cardinal Family inside Worthen Arena! Tickets for the upcoming MIVA Tournament quarterfinals can also be purchased HERE!
