No. 11 MVB Completes Comeback Win Over McKendree Behind Ndavazocheva's Career Best 27 Kills

Saturday, April 6

Muncie, Ind.

5 pm

Ball State University

20-9,13-3MIVA

McKendree University (Senior Night)

14-11,8-8MIVA

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
McKendree	25	25	20	22	8	2
Ball St.	21	20	25	25	15	3

Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services

No. 11 MVB Completes Comeback Win Over McKendree Behind Ndavazocheva's Career Best 27 Kills

April 06, 2024 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

With the win, the Cardinals take sole possession of the MIVA regular season title for the third-straight season

MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State men's volleyball team completed a come-from-behind victory Saturday night in Worthen Arena after taking the last three sets from McKendree to earn the Cardinals the 3-2 win against the Bearcats.

With the win, Ball State improved to 20-9 overall while finishing the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) regular season with a 13-3 ledger. McKendree's loss caused the Bearcats to drop to 14-11 on the year and 8-8 in conference play.

Tonight's victory also gave Ball State sole possession of the MIVA regular season title while also locking up the No. 1 seed in next week's conference tournament where the Cardinals will host the eighth-seeded Queens University of Charlotte next Saturday at 7 pm ET. A Cardinal win in the quarterfinal round will guarantee Ball State to host the semifinal rounds on Thursday, April 18 and then title match on Saturday, April 20.

McKendree opened tonight's match on a mission taking both sets one (25-21) and two (25-20) to take an early 2-0 advantage over Ball State.

After a few lineup changes in the third stanza, the Cardinals got somewhat of an offensive rhythm back. Although, the Bearcats weren't making it easy for Ball State with 10 ties and four lead changes, Ball State finally pushed ahead 20-17 late in the frame after a kill from Braydon Savitski-Lynde. Shortly after, a kill from Tinaishe Ndavazocheva and a few block assists from the Cardinals' defense allowed Ball State to take set three, 25-20.

The fourth frame mimicked the third period so much so that the back-and-forth affair lasted the entire set. The score was deadlocked at 21-21 but back-to-back kills from Ndavazocheva put BSU in a good position to send the match into overtime. As luck would have it, Ndavazocheva came through again to set up the winning point for the Cardinals and the Bearcats would commit a hitting error on the ensuing possession to give Ball State the 25-22 fourth set win.

In the extra period, Ball State cruised past McKendree after hitting .857 as a team from the floor off six kills and seven swings. A poetic ending, as senior Trevor Phillips registered the match winning kill for BSU.

After the match, Ball State paid tribute to its six seniors, Dyer Ball, Wil McPhillips, Trevor Phillips, Lukas Pytlak, Rodney Wallace and Mark Wickstrom.

The Cardinals were led offensively tonight by Ndavazocheva with a career best 27 kills. It marked Ndavazocheva's fourth 20+ kill performance this season.

The top seeded Ball State men's volleyball team will host the eighth-seeded Queens University of Charlotte on Saturday, April 13 at 7 pm ET in the MIVA Tournament quarterfinals.