Ball State University
Lewis University
Men's Volleyball Opens MIVA Action at Home This Weekend Against Lewis and McKendree
February 08, 2023 | Men's Volleyball
No. 9 Ball State (5-3, 0-0 MIVA) hosts Lewis (6-5, 0-0 MIVA) Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7 pm ET &  McKendree (5-2) Saturday, Feb. 11 at 6 pm ET
Last meeting: Ball State 3, Lewis 0 (4/20/22) Â
Series History: Ball State leads the all-time series 36-33
Last meeting: Ball State 3, McKendree 0 (3/31/22) Â
Series History: Ball State leads the all-time series 12-6
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 LEWIS:Â Lewis comes to Ball State with a 6-5 overall mark. The Flyers are trying to win their second-straight match after defeating the University oof Mount Olive by a score of 3-0 Saturday, Feb. 4. Lewis is led offensively by sophomore outside hitter Max Roquet who is averaging 3.17 kills per contest and has totaled 104 kills so far this season. The Flyers are coaches by Dan Friend who is in his 19th season at Lewis.Â
SCOUTING MCKENDREE: McKendree is playing hot right now winning five straight matches. Recently the Bearcats defeated Missouri S&T (3-1) and LIU (3-0) this past weekend in Lebanon, Ill. Bryce Wetjen leads the Bearcats with 78 kills which averages out to be 3.12 kills per contest. McKendree's head coach is Nicki Sanlin who is both the men's and women's volleyball coach. McKendree made its men's volleyball debut in January 2014, and in 2015 became a MIVA member.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: Ball State split its two-match series against No. 11 BYU last weekend losing to the Cougars Thursday, Feb. 2 by a score of 1-3 and then turned around and defeated BYU Saturday, Feb. 4 also by a 3-1 decision. The Cardinals which are the reigning 2022 MIVA Tournament and regular season champions swept both conference series against Lewis and McKendree last season.Â
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).
USA VOLLEYBALL WINS BRONZE: Ball State men's volleyball senior Kaleb Jenness along with his former teammate and alumnus Quinn Isaacson helped the USA Men's Volleyball team earn the bronze medal at the Pan Am Cup this past summer in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The U.S. led in kills (56-42) and had a .463 hitting efficiency behind Isaacson who dished out 86 assists in four sets (25-16, 25-15, 22-25, 25-21) against Chile.
NEXT GAME: After this weekend, Ball State will be on the road for four-straight matches when it plays at Loyola (Feb. 16), at PFW (2/18), at Lindenwood (2/24) and at Quincy (2/25).
