Saturday, April 22
Muncie, IN
7 p.m.
Ball State University
20-9,11-3MIVA
1
vs
3
Ohio State
22-9,11-3MIVA
1
2
3
4
F
Ohio St.
27
25
19
25
3
Ball St.
25
17
25
19
1
Cardinals Fall in MIVA Championship Match to Rival Ohio State
April 22, 2023 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - Ball State's quest to earn back-to-back Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament titles ended Saturday night with a 3-1 (25-27, 17-25, 25-19, 19-25) loss to Ohio State in the championship match at Worthen Arena.Â
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As the top seed, the Cardinals (20-9) were looking to repeat their tournament success from the 2022 season that saw Ball State earn its first MIVA Tournament title in 20-years under then first-year head coach Donan Cruz. The Buckeyes (22-9) entered tonight's contest as the No. 3 seed and has extended their win streak to 11-straight. The Buckeyes will now advance to the NCAA Tournament.
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For their efforts, Kaleb Jenness and Tinaishe Ndavazocheva were both named to the All-MIVA Tournament Team for their play over the three postseason matches.Â
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The Buckeyes opened the match up strong by taking the first two opening sets.
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With the Cardinals down, 0-2 in the match, Ball State slowly began to find a rhythm which allowed them to take an early 3-1 edge over Ohio State in frame three.Â
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The score was tied on six different occasions, but the Cardinals began to pull away as Keau Thompson served up six-straight points to give the Cardinals the 23-16 advantage over the Buckeyes. Ball State remained atop of Ohio State the remainder of the set winning, 25-19.Â
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Despite Ball State's efforts to send the match into overtime, the Buckeyes were connecting on all cylinders in set four. The Cardinals found themselves down and could not regain momentum, eventually falling to Ohio State, 25-19.Â
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For the match, Jenness led the Cardinals with 16 kills while Ndavazocheva ended the night with 15. Jenness also hit a staggering .400 percent from the floor off 35 swings.Â
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As the top seed, the Cardinals (20-9) were looking to repeat their tournament success from the 2022 season that saw Ball State earn its first MIVA Tournament title in 20-years under then first-year head coach Donan Cruz. The Buckeyes (22-9) entered tonight's contest as the No. 3 seed and has extended their win streak to 11-straight. The Buckeyes will now advance to the NCAA Tournament.
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For their efforts, Kaleb Jenness and Tinaishe Ndavazocheva were both named to the All-MIVA Tournament Team for their play over the three postseason matches.Â
Â
The Buckeyes opened the match up strong by taking the first two opening sets.
Â
With the Cardinals down, 0-2 in the match, Ball State slowly began to find a rhythm which allowed them to take an early 3-1 edge over Ohio State in frame three.Â
Â
The score was tied on six different occasions, but the Cardinals began to pull away as Keau Thompson served up six-straight points to give the Cardinals the 23-16 advantage over the Buckeyes. Ball State remained atop of Ohio State the remainder of the set winning, 25-19.Â
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Despite Ball State's efforts to send the match into overtime, the Buckeyes were connecting on all cylinders in set four. The Cardinals found themselves down and could not regain momentum, eventually falling to Ohio State, 25-19.Â
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For the match, Jenness led the Cardinals with 16 kills while Ndavazocheva ended the night with 15. Jenness also hit a staggering .400 percent from the floor off 35 swings.Â
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Team Stats
OSU
BSU
Kills
63
46
Errors
18
16
Attempts
124
109
Hitting %
.363
.275
Points
76.5
56.5
Assists
56
44
Aces
6
2
Blocks
7.5
8.5
Game Leaders
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
15
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
OA
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