Four Men’s Volleyball Players Recognized As NVA/AVCA All-Americans
May 02, 2022 | Men's Volleyball
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Four Ball State men's volleyball players have earned 2022 All-America honors as selected by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), the organization announced Monday.
Graduate senior setter Quinn Isaacson (Plainfield, Ill./North) and senior outside attacker Kaleb Jenness (Mount Pleasant, S.C./Wando) have been tabbed First Team NVA/AVCA All-Americans, while graduate senior opposite Angelos Mandilaris (Chalkida, Greece) received Second Team NVA/AVCA All-American accolades. Senior middle blocker Felix Egharevba (Naperville, Ill./Central) rounded out the awards as he was named to the All-American Honorable Mention squad.
Isaacson and Jenness become only the third and fourth players, respectively, to earn AVCA All-America First Team honors, joining former Cardinals Paul Fasshauer (2002) and Eduardo Ferraz (1996-97). Mandilaris in the seventh Cardinal to be named to the All-MIVA Second Team, along with legends Matt Leske (2014), Anders Nelson (2011), Ian Peckler (2007), Keith Schunzel (2004), Eduardo Ferraz (1995) and Todd Reimer (1994-95). Egharevba becomes the first AVCA Honorable Mention honoree.
The nation's leader in assists continues to garner accolades for his success on the court this season as Isaacson was also named the All-Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association First Team and All-MIVA Tournament squad. Prior to the season, he earned preseason All-MIVA honors for back-to-back seasons. Isaacson earned MIVA Player of the Week honors twice this year. The senior setter ranks atop of the NCAA and the MIVA in assists per set with 11.42. He has dished out a personal-best 1,005 assists for the season and currently ranks sixth all-time on Ball State's career top-20 list with 3,153 assists. Isaacson leads the team in service aces with 32 and served up the winning ace against then-top-ranked Hawai'i on Jan. 31.
Jenness was tabbed the MIVA Player of the Year and the MIVA Tournament MVP while also tallying First Team All-MIVA honors. He was named preseason All-MIVA prior to the start of the season. Jenness currently ranks second nationally in kills per set (4.71). He leads the Cardinals in kills (396), hitting percentage (.99) and points (5.30). Jenness has turned in a double-digit kill performance 22 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. Jenness currently ranks 11th on Ball State's all-time kills list with 1,086.
In only one year of action, Mandilaris has made quite the impact on the Cardinals' offense, earning his first All-MIVA postseason honor while also being voted to the MIVA All-Tournament Team. Mandilaris was named the 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 (289), second in service aces (21) and second in block assists (58).
A force to be reckoned with on defense, Egharevba was tabbed to the All-MIVA Second Team for the second time in his career. Egharevba leads the Cardinals with 115 total blocks, which includes 16 block solos and 99 block assists. He ranks at the top nationally in blocks per set with 1.386. 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 224 total blocks for his career at Ball State.
The Ball State men's volleyball team heads into its first NCAA Tournament since 2002 after being selected as the No. 2 seed. The Cardinals earned a bye into the national semifinals, set to take place in Los Angeles, Calif. on the campus of UCLA at Pauley Pavilion, May 5-7.
Ball State will face either Princeton, North Greenville, or a possible rematch against Hawai'i on Thursday, May 5 at 10:30 p.m. ET and can be watched live on NCAA.com. This will be the Cardinals' 16th appearance at the NCAA Tournament all-time.
Ball State enters the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 4 in the national AVCA Coaches Poll, which is the highest the Cardinals have ever been ranked in program history with a 23-3 overall record.
