Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Ohio State University
Men's Volleyball Looks to Remain Atop of MIVA Standings at Rival Ohio State Thursday
March 13, 2024 | Men's Volleyball
No. 13 Ball State (14-7, 7-1 MIVA) |
No. 8 Ohio State (15-5, 8-2 MIVA)
Series History:Â
Ohio State leads the all-time series 103-92 record over 13 Ball State
Last Meeting: Ohio State 3, Ball State 1 (4/22/23)Â
Setting the Scene:
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Coach Cruz: Ball State head coach Donan Cruz enters his third season at the helm of the Cardinals and owns an overall record at BSU of 56-19 (.767) along with a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) Tournament Championship, two MIVA regular season titles and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Match Recap: Ball State has had some time off after earning a two-match sweep over Queens of Charlotte the Cardinals trained in Puerto Rico on spring break while also doing volunteer work on their trip.Â
First Serve: Ball State currently is in first place in the MIVA standings. The last time Ball State won in Columbus was a 3-2 marathon match on March 16, 2022. The two teams last met in the MIVA Tournament title match where the Buckeyes defeated the Cardinals 3-1 in Worthen Arena on April 22, 2023.
Scouting Ohio State: The Buckeyes are historically one of the Cardinals biggest rivals. Ohio State owns a 57-38 series at home against Ball State. During the 2023 regular season, Ball State won at home 3-0 before Ohio State claimed a 3-2 win in Columbus, a match that started a 12-match win streak for the Buckeyes. Both of the Buckeyes two MIVA losses came against Loyola-Chicago this year.
Ndavazocheva Earns MIVA Offensive Player of the Week:Â Ndavazocheva led the Cardinals to a 3-0 victory over Quincy. The junior outside hitter had 15 kills on 22 attempts with just one error, working out to a .636 hitting percentage. He added an ace in the win. His 15 kills averaged to 5.00 per set.
Rogers MIVA Offensive Player of the Week:Â Patrick Rogers led No. 13 Ball State to a pair of wins over Purdue Fort Wayne and then-No. 10 Loyola Chicago. The sophomore outside hitter totaled 40 kills in eight sets for a 5.00 average per set while hitting .395 for the week. Against the Mastodons, he had 22 kills in three sets on a blistering .515 hitting clip then followed it up with 18 kills on .302 hitting in five sets against the Ramblers. He added an ace against the Mastodons.
Preseason All-MIVA:  The 2024 roster is a good mixture of some familiar faces along with several newcomers. One of the Cardinals returnees is sophomore outside hitter Tinaishe Ndavazocheva who was recently named to the 12-member preseason All-MIVA conference team. Ndavazocheva turned in quite the rookie season for the Cardinals last year. 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 had 22 double digit kill performances in 2023. Ndavazocheva ended the season ranked second on the team in kills (342) and in points (397.5). He also received All-MIVA First Team honors and AVCA Honorable Mention All-American.
The Legend Don Shondell: The Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association has announced changes to the MIVA Tournament format. The conference has also announced that future tournament winners will receive the Don Shondell MIVA Championship Trophy.
The MIVA Tournament has been played after every regular season since 1980 except 2020 and was also played from 1964-69. The new format for the MIVA Tournament will reward the highest seeds, providing an advantage for a path to the NCAA tournament via the MIVA's automatic bid.The opening round of the eight-team tournament will be played at the higher four seeds. No. 1 will host No. 8, No. 2 will host No. 7, No. 3 will host No. 6, and No. 4 will host No. 5.Â
The semifinal and final rounds will be hosted by the highest remaining seed in the field. The field will also re-seed. The highest remaining seed will host the lowest remaining seed and the other two teams will play in the other semifinal. The two winning teams will play in the final match for the Don Shondell MIVA Championship Trophy.
