Men's Volleyball Looks to Repeat MIVA Tournament Title; Hosts Rival Ohio State Saturday

Saturday, April 22

Muncie, IN

7 p.m.

Ball State University

Ohio State

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MC-48176 - MIVA Tournament Semifinals vs Lewis

Men's Volleyball Looks to Repeat MIVA Tournament Title; Hosts Rival Ohio State Saturday

April 21, 2023 | Men's Volleyball

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MIDWESTERN INTERCOLLEGIATE VOLLEYBALL ASSOCIATION TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP

Men's Volleyball Hosts Rival Ohio State in MIVA Tourney Title Match Saturday
The Cardinals are the top seed while the Buckeyes come to Worthen Arena as the No. 3 seed

THE ROAD TO THE MIVA TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP: Ohio State (21-9), the No. 3 seed in the 2023 Midwestern Collegiate Volleyball Association Tournament, knocked off Lindenwood (3-0) and Mckendree (3-1) to advance to Saturday's title match against Ball State. The Cardinals need to on the lookout for freshman Shane Wetzel led the Buckeyes in kills, the most recent a 19-kill effort vs. McKendree in the MIVA Semifinals last Wednesday in Columbus. Junior Jacob Pasteur was named the MIVA Player of the Year by the league coaches. Wetzel earned Newcomer of the Year and was named to the All-MIVA Second Team. Both Pasteur and sophomore Cole Young earned All-MIVA First Team honors. Against Ball State this year, Ohio State split with the Cardinals with each teams winning on its home court. Ohio State fell 3-0 in Muncie before winning 3-2 in Columbus. The latter win started the Buckeyes on their current 10-match win streak. Ball State (20-8) knocked off Quincy and Lewis 3-0 to get repeat a shot of the MIVA Tournament Championship. The Cardinals have won eight-straight matches. Tinaishe Ndavazocheva has led Ball State thus far in the tournament totaling 28 kills while averaging 4.6 kills per set.

15 TIMES: Ball State has won the MIVA Tournament title a total of 15 times (1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2002, 2022).

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.

THE LAST TIME BALL STATE AND OHIO STATE MET IN THE TITLE MATCH: The last time the Cardinals and the Buckeyes met in the MIVA title match was in 2009. Ball State fell to Ohio State 0-3 that year. The Cardinals last defeated the Buckeyes in the MIVA championship in 1995 which was a 3-0 sweep for BSU.

NO. 10 MEN'S VOLLEYBALL PLACES FOUR ON ALL-MIVA FIRST & SECOND TEAM: The Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association regular season champion Ball State men's volleyball team had four players earn All-MIVA First and Second Team honors. Graduate senior outside hitter Kaleb Jenness was tabbed to the All-MIVA First Team for the fourth-straight season along with sophomore outside attacker Tinaishe Ndavazocheva who also received First Team honors as well, which is a first for Ndavazocheva. Graduate senior middle attacker Felix Egharevba was selected to the All-MIVA Second Team for his third-straight season while teammate senior setter David Flores also earned the same award for the first time in his career. Jenness, was tabbed preseason All-MIVA prior to the start of the season. Jenness currently ranks 15th in the nation in kills per set (3.72). He leads the Cardinals in kills (327), digs (138) and points (369.5). Jenness has turned in a double-digit performances 19 times this season including a season best 21-kills at Loyola Chicago (2/16) and UC San Diego (3/5). Jenness recently earned MIVA Player of the Week honors on April 11. Currently Jenness ranks second all-time in kills at Ball State with 1,185.Ndavazocheva has turned in quite the rookie season for the Cardinals. He earned MIVA Offensive Player of the Week honors and Off the Block National Honors on Feb. 7. He turned in a career high 27 kills against Lewis (2/9) and has had 19 double digit kill performances this season. Ndavazocheva currently ranks second on the team in kills (299) and in points (343.5). A force to be reckoned with on defense, Egharevba has been tabbed to the All-MIVA Second Team for the third time in his career. Egharevba leads the Cardinals with 90 blocks which includes 10 block solos and 80 block assists. He ranks 16th nationally in blocks per set (1.011). This season, Egharevba has turned in one double digit block performance with 10 against UC San Diego (3/5). Egharevba has 319 total blocks for his career at Ball State which is good for ninth all-time. For the first time in his career, Flores has earned a postseason All-MIVA honor after being named to the Second Team. Flores recently was tabbed the Off the Block Setter of the Week along with earning MIVA Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance last weekend against Loyola Chicago and Purdue Fort Wayne. Flores dished out a season best 53 assists against BYU (2/2/23) and currently ranks eighth in the nation in assists per set (10.17).