The eyes of the country will be on Ball State when it takes on defending national champion Hawaii in the national semifinals Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET at Pauley Pavilion.
"We're excited to be here," head coach Donan Cruz said. "I'm excited for the opportunity for the guys to get the chance to play on this stage and represent the university in the right way."
After earning the No. 2 overall seed - the highest in program history - behind a 23-3 record that included a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) regular season tournament title, the Cardinals earned a bye to the "final four" of the NCAA Tournament. Ball State is making its 16th appearance in the tournament all-time and the first since 2002.
The matchup features two of the winningest programs in the country this year. Hawaii leads the nation with 25 wins, while Ball State is tied with Penn State for second with 23 victories. The Cardinals' .885 winning percentage leads the nation, while Hawaii's .833 mark is fourth.
The task for Ball State Thursday night will be tall as Hawaii is making its third consecutive trip to the semifinals and fourth in the last five years. However, it is attainable, as the Cardinals defeated this same team - albeit without a few regular contributors - in Muncie earlier this season twice, 3-0 and 3-2.
Now, with a full complement of players, the Warriors will look to avenge those defeats.
"The one thing we've constantly talked about the whole year is if we do what we can on our side of the net, that is what has gotten us here," graduate Quinn Isaacson said. "So, if we're continue to do that, we think we can have success."
Ball State comes into the match having won 14 of its last 15, including six of seven outside of Worthen Arena.
The winner of Thursday night's match will advance to the national championship Saturday at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
"We're just going to continue our game, playing our side of the net and focusing on things that we can control," senior Kaleb Jenness said. "We're excited for this opportunity and we're ready to get going."
Inside the Series: Hawaii
Ball State and Hawaii are slated to square off for the 18th time in series history Thursday night inside Pauley Pavilion. The Rainbow Warriors hold a 12-5 lead in the matchup all-time. However, the series is tied 2-2 in neutral-site affairs.
The Cardinals won both matchups against the defending national champions in Muncie on Jan. 29 (3-0) and Jan. 31 (3-2) when the Rainbow Warriors were ranked No. 1. The wins marked Ball State's first over the top-ranked team since defeating UCLA on March 3, 1995 (3-0).
In the two matches this season, the Cardinals out-hit the Warriors, .427 to .283, and averaged 15.3 kills per set compared to their 10.8. Kaleb Jenness and Angelos Mandilaris led the attack at the net with 39 kills apiece, while Quinn Isaacson dished out 105 assists to go along with 18 digs.
Ball State in the NCAA Tournament
Ball State is making its 16th NCAA Tournament appearance all-time and first since 2002. The Cardinals are 11-29 in the tournament in program history, which includes an 0-15 mark in the national semifinals. Ball State has faced Hawaii in the NCAA Tournament once in series history, which was a Cardinals win in the 1995 third-place game, 3-1 (15-6, 10-15, 15-13, 15-8).
Ball State will aim to set a new mark on an accomplished program Thursday night: reach the title game. The Cardinals have come up short in all 15 appearances in the national semifinals in program history. However, head coach Donan Cruz brings with him a wealth of experience on the bench, having appeared in five of the last six national championship games at Grand View (NAIA).
Historic Head Coach
Head coach Donan Cruz has had a historic first season at the helm at Ball State. Cruz earned the 2022 AVCA Men's Division I/II National Coach of the Year honor after leading the Cardinals to a 23-3 overall record, along with Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) regular season and tournament titles. The second coach in program history to earn AVCA National Coach of the Year honors while leading the Cardinals, joining 1995 & 1996 honoree Dr. Don Shondell, Cruz helped restore Ball State's historic traditions of success by guiding the program to its first outright MIVA regular season championship since 1997. Ball State went 12-2 in league play in 2022, earning Cruz the title of MIVA Coach of the Year. Cruz also won National Coach of the Year honors four times in 10 seasons at his previous stop (Grand View).
All-Americans
Four Ball State men's volleyball players earned 2022 AVCA All-America honors in senior middle blocker Felix Egharevba, graduate senior setter Quinn Isaacson, senior outside attacker Kaleb Jenness and graduate senior opposite Angelos Mandilaris. Isaacson and Jenness were tabbed First Team All-Americans, while Mandilaris received Second Team All-American accolades. Egharevba rounded out the awards as he was named to the All-American Honorable Mention squad.
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Ball State prepares for national semifinal vs. defending national champion Hawaii - BallStateSports.com
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