COLUMBUS, Ohio — As the season is wrapping up, the Ball State Cardinals have embarked on a road trip starting in Columbus, Ohio. The Cardinals took on the Ohio State Buckeyes for the second time this season, with their first matchup resulting in a five-set win.
With just three games to go, the Cardinals had a lead over the Buckeyes in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) standings. Despite that, the Buckeyes protected home court and the Cardinals fell 3-1 (14-25, 25-23, 27-25, 25-19).
In the opening set, it was all Ohio State. The Cardinals stuck around for the beginning of the set, but a four-point run by the Buckeyes gave them a big enough lead to take it the rest of the way. Ball State head coach Donan Cruz talked about what he tells the team after a difficult first set loss.
“Anytime you get off to a slow start, you try and move forward,” Cruz said. “You kinda have a short-term memory and just move on to set two.”
What Cruz said proved true for the Cardinals, as they responded in a big way in the second set. Senior outside hitter Tinaishe Ndavazocheva led the way for the Cardinals, recording seven kills as they evened the score.
In set three, Ball State took the momentum that they had and rode with it. They controlled the majority of the set, taking a 20-16 lead late. But back-to-back service aces from the Buckeyes gave them the juice to go on a run and claim the third frame as theirs.
After a back-and-forth third, Ohio State cruised into, and out of, the fourth. The Buckeyes claimed a lead early and never trailed in the set, putting the nail in the coffin of their victory.
With just two more games to go on the year, Ball State is still battling to solidify its spot in the MIVA standings. They have two more important road games to finish out the year, and Cruz talked about moving on from this one and focusing on the next two.
“Right now there’s still a lot at stake for seeding in the conference tournament,” Cruz said. “It’s pretty critical.”
Ndavazocheva led the team in kills with fifteen and Cruz talked about how big of a role senior leadership, like Ndavazocheva, will play in the postseason.
“We have definitely got to lean in on those guys and hope that they can perform in big moments,” Cruz said. “It has also been the exact opposite, like, how can these younger guys contribute as well.”
Ball State will be back in action April 5 at 7:00 p.m., where they will face Purdue Fort-Wayne on the road.
Contact Kyle Stout via email at kyle.stout@bsu.edu or via X @kylestoutdailyn.
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