Ball State men's volleyball earns No. 1 seed in MIVA tournament, hosts Quincy on Saturday
MUNCIE, Ind. — The back-to-back Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) league champion and defending MIVA tournament champion Ball State Cardinals will begin their quest to return to the NCAA tournament when the No. 1 seeded Cardinals host No. 8 seed Quincy in the quarterfinal round of the MIVA tournament.
The fireworks begin Saturday night at 6 p.m. in Worthen Arena. Doors will open at 5 p.m. and tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for K-12 students.
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Since 2022 AVCA National Coach of the Year Donan Cruz arrived on the Ball State campus two years ago, the Cardinals have been magical, going 23-4 last season and nearly upsetting eventual national champion Hawai'i in the NCAA semifinals, losing a heartbreaker to the Rainbow Warriors 3-2.
This season, Cruz’s Cardinals are ranked 10th in the latest AVCA poll and are 18-8 on the season. Ball State finished with a sparkling 11-3 MIVA record, giving the 22-time MIVA champion Cardinals a share of the MIVA championship with Ohio State and Loyola Chicago. Ball State then won the tiebreaker over third-seeded Ohio State and second-seeded Loyola Chicago.
The defending MIVA tournament champion Cardinals will open their quest to repeat as champions when they meet Quincy (8-18, 1-13 MIVA). Quincy is coached by three-time USA volleyball Olympian Caren Kemner. Despite their record, the Hawks may be the most improved team in the league, losing close, hard-fought matches in the final three weeks of the season. Two of the losses included a 3-1 loss to Ball State in Worthen Arena after the Hawks were tied with the Cardinals 16-16 in Set 4. Quincy then took Loyola Chicago to the wire, dropping a 3-2 thriller to the Ramblers.
Quincy is led by 6-foot-6-inch opposite Raje Alleyne, a high-flying sophomore opposite player from Barbados.
Ball State will enter as one of the hottest teams in the country having won seven of its last eight matches, with the Cardinals only blemish being to 13th-ranked Ohio State 3-2 loss in Columbus.
Ball State has been led this season by graduate student 2021 AVCA First Team All-American outside attacker Kaleb Jenness, sophomore outside attacker Tinaishe Zdavazocheva, senior setter David Flores and graduate student middle attacker 2021 AVCA All-American Honorable Mention Felix Egharevba.
After earning the No. 1 seed, Ball State can potentially play all three MIVA tournament matches inside Worthen Arena, where the Cardinals have won nearly 95% of their matches the past two seasons.
Can the Cruz magic continue? Cruz likes his Cardinals' chances.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ball State men's volleyball earns No. 1 seed in MIVA tournament
