Ball State University
Lindenwood
Men's Volleyball Heads Back to the Road For MIVA Action at Lindenwood and Quincy
February 23, 2023 | Men's Volleyball
No. 12 Ball State (7-5, 2-2 MIVA) at Lindenwood (5-6, 3-1 MIVA) Friday, Feb. 24 at 8 pm ET & Quincy (4-8, 0-4 MIVA) Saturday, Feb. 25 at 6 pm ET
Series History: Ball State leads the all-time series 21-4
Last meeting: Ball State 3, Lindenwood 0 (3/26/22)
Series History: Ball State has defeated Quincy in 56 of 61 all-time meetingsÂ
and has won the last seven
Last meeting: Ball State 3, Quincy 0 (4/16/22)
Setting the Scene:
CRUZ'S FIRST MEMORABLE SEASON: The Cardinals are looking to build off a historic 2022 season which saw Donan Cruz, in his first year at the helm, lead Ball State to a 23-4 overall record and the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship. BSU was also ranked third in the final NVA/AVCA Men's Division I-II Coaches Poll: the highest ranking in program history. Ball State was also the 2022 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association regular season and tournament champions. Cruz was named the 2022 AVCA Coach of the Year last season and MIVA Coach of the Year.Â
SCOUTING LINDENWOOD: Lindenwood is coming off a 2-0 week in MIVA action after a 3-1 victory over McKendree, Feb. 15 and then earned a five-set thriller against Lewis, Feb. 17. The Lions have suffered only one loss in conference play and that was to Loyola Chicago by a score of 3-2, Feb. 11. Lindenwood is led offensively by Ian Schuller with 134 total kills while averaging 3.27 kills per contest. The Lions setter, Connor Sheehan recently earned MIVA Defensive Player of the Week honors. The Cardinals have won six in a row against the Lions. The last time Ball State fell to Lindenwood was in St. Charles, Mo. Feb. 28, 2020, by a score of 3-1.
SCOUTING QUINCY: Quincy is looking for its first MIVA win of the season after starting league action 0-4. The Hawks' have falling 3-0 to Loyola Chicago, Purdue Fort Wayne, Lewis and McKendree so far this season. The Hawks are led offensively by Race Alleyne with 155 total kills while averaging 4.19 kills per set. The Cardinals have dominated the MIVA series over the Hawks the past few seasons and defeated Quincy three times in 2022. The last time the two teams met was in the MIVA Tournament quarterfinals in Worthen Arena on April 16 which resulted in a 3-0 sweep for Ball State. That game Kaleb Jenness led Ball State offensively with 16 kills.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: - Ball State split its MIVA weekend series last week after suffering a 3-1 loss at Loyola-Chicago Thursday night. On Saturday, the Cardinals were able to redeem themselves over their long-time conference rival Purdue Fort Wayne taking a 3-2 thriller over the Mastodons. It was a record breaking night for Ball State's defense as the Cardinals set a program record in total blocks in a single-match (26.5). It was also the third-most in NCAA rally scoring history.
NDAVAZOCHEVA EARNS MIVA OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK & OFF THE BLOCK NATIONAL HONORS: Sophomore Tinaishe Ndavazocheva of the ninth-ranked Ball State men's volleyball team has earned his first career weekly honor for the Cardinals after being named the Midwestern Intercollegiate Offensive Player of the Week. Ndavazocheva gave Ball State its first win over a ranked foe this week, splitting a two-match series with No. 11 BYU. The sophomore from Masvingo, Zimbabwe finished his week with 43 kills, averaging 5.38 per set. He was efficient with his offense, hitting over .300 in both matches and averaging .393 for the week. The outside hitter also added a pair of aces. Ndavazocheva was also recognized by Off The Block as the nation's Outside Attacker of the Week.
MIVA/AVCA PREASEASON PREDICTION: The reigning 2022 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association regular season and tournament champions, the Ball State men's volleyball team was picked first in the preseason MIVA poll. In addition, two Cardinals were named to the 12-member preseason all-conference team — outside attacker Kaleb Jenness and middle blocker Felix Egharevba. Jenness was also tabbed as the preseason MIVA Player of the Year. The Cardinals were recently selected No. 6 in the preseason AVCA Coaches Poll.
CARDINAL STANDOUTS RETURN: The Cardinals return veterans outside attacker Kaleb Jenness and middle blocker Felix Egharevba. Jenness has been tabbed preseason All-MIVA three straight seasons. Last year, Jenness was tabbed the MIVA Player of the Year and the MIVA Tournament MVP while also tallying First Team All-MIVA honors. Jenness was also tabbed as First Team NVA/AVCA All-American. Egharevba, a force to be reckoned with on defense, Egharevba was tabbed to the All-MIVA Second Team for the second time in his career. Last year Egharevba also earned NVA/AVCA All-American Honorable Mention. He ended last season as the 2021-22 NCAA Division NC statistical champion for blocks per set (1.41).
NEXT GAME: Ball State returns to Worthen Arena Wednesday, March 1 against Central State at 6 pm ET.
