Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Purdue Fort Wayne
Men's Volleyball Travels to In-State MIVA Rival Purdue Fort Wayne Saturday
March 22, 2024 | Men's Volleyball
No. 12 Ball State (16-7, 9-1 MIVA) |
Purdue Fort Wayn (11-9, 5-6 MIVA)
Last Meeting: Ball State 3, PFW 0 (2/15/24)
Series History:
Ball State leads the series 82-33
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 59-21 (.746) along with a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) Tournament Championship, two MIVA regular season titles and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Match Recap: Ball State fell to rival Ohio State Thursday night by a score of 3-0 to the Buckeyes after defeating them just a week prior by a 3-1 decision in Columbus, Ohio. With the loss, the Cardinals still sit atop of the MIVA standings with a 9-2 conference ledger.
Scouting Purdue Fort Wayne: Purdue Fort Wayne swept both Lindenwood and No. 8 Ohio State last weekend at Gates Sports Center. Jon Diedrich was named the MIVA Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts. Ball State has won the last eight match-ups, dating back to the 2020-21 season.
Ndavazocheva Earns MIVA Offensive Player of the Week: 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: 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.
Rogers Has a Standout Week: Rogers led Ball State with 41 kills last week while hitting an impressive .453 from the floor off of 75 swings. Rogers also averaged 5.86 kills per set. Rogers began the week with a career best 24 kills in a 3-1 win over rival Ohio State while tallying a .383 hitting percentage. On Saturday, Rogers continued his strong offensive showing with 17 kills off a .571 hitting accuracy on 28 total attacks. Rogers also served up an ace as the Cardinals swept Lindenwood to remain atop of the MIVA standings.
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. 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.
