Wednesday, April 19
Muncie, IN
7 pm
Ball State University
20-8,11-3MIVA
3
vs
0
Lewis University
17-13,7-7MIVA
1
2
3
F
Lewis
21
21
18
0
Ball St.
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Samantha Blankenship / Ball State University
Men’s Volleyball Sweeps Lewis; Hosts Ohio State in MIVA Championship Match Saturday
April 19, 2023 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State men's volleyball team was on a mission tonight as the top-seeded Cardinals defeated No. 4 seed Lewis 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-18) in the semifinals of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association tournament Wednesday night inside Worthen Arena.
The win also marked Ball State's second-straight 20-win season under the direction of second-year head coach Donan Cruz. The last time the Cardinals had back-to-back 20-win seasons was 2014 and 2015.
The Cardinals (20-8) had split their two-match MIVA regular season series with the Flyers (17-13) prior to tonight's competition. The match opened with a tight first set, but Ball State had the upper hand throughout eventually building a 19-15 advantage after kills from Felix Egharevba and Tinaishe Ndavazocheva. The Cardinals took advantage of their momentum and remained atop of Lewis the remainder of the frame to take the first set, 25-21.
The momentum continued for Ball State in set two although the score was close, the Cardinals began to pull away with some nice offensive plays at the net from veteran Kaleb Jenness. Jenness threw down a kill that would push the Cardinals cushion to 19-15 over the Flyers. Lewis would continue to play close, but Ball State went up 22-19 off an Egharevba kill that eventually allowed the Cardinals to take set two, 25-21.
The third set was the closest of them all with six ties and two lead changes. With the scored knotted at 12-12, Ball State quickly put an end to Lewis' comeback with back-to-back kills from Egharevba and Ndavaocheva. Those kills allowed BSU to regain control of the third set.
From that point forward the Cardinals never looked back and would take set three, 25-18. The Cardinals would hit .520 from the floor in the third set off 25 attacks.
All-MIVA First Team selections Ndavazocheva and Jenness led the Cardinals offensively with 15 and 11 kills, respectively while All-MIVA Second Team honoree Egharevba finished the night with 10. Defensively, Vanis Buckholz and Egharevba each had five total blocks apiece.
The Ball State men's volleyball team will advance to the championship match for the second-straight season Saturday, April 22 when it hosts the third-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes in Worthen Arena at 7 p.m. ET. ??
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 championship match can also be purchased HERE!
Team Stats
Lewis
BSU
Kills
35
46
Errors
19
12
Attempts
80
85
Hitting %
.200
.400
Points
43.0
62.0
Assists
33
42
Aces
1
3
Blocks
7
13
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
15
Aces
2
Blocks
3
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's VolleyballOA
/ Men's VolleyballOH/OPP
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