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The NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball postseason will get underway in the Midwest with the MIVA Tournament.
The conference tournament quarterfinals will begin Saturday. Check out the matchups and the historical tidbits to know before filling out your MIVA Tournament bracket.
No. 1 seed Ball State (20-3, 12-2 MIVA) vs. No. 8 seed Quincy (4-18, 0-14 MIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. Saturday in Muncie, Indiana
Season series: Ball State swept Quincy in both regular season matches.
All-time series: Ball State leads 54-5
MIVA Tournament titles: Ball State (1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2002); Quincy (none)
NCAA Tournament championships: Ball State (none); Quincy (none)
Next up on the bracket: The winner of this match will advance to the semifinals and play the winner of the Lewis versus Ohio State quarterfinals match.
Ball State player to know: Setter Quinn Isaacson has a nation-best 11.48 assists per game average and guided the Cardinals to the second best attack percentage in the nation at .349.
Quincy player to know: Nathan Lawton is the top 10 of the MIVA with a 3.33 kills per game average.
Stats to know: Ball State throughout its program history has always advanced to the MIVA Tournament finals in years that there was a conference tournament and it won the regular season title. A No. 8 seed has never won in the MIVA Tournament quarterfinals. In addition, Quincy has not won a road conference match since 2017. Quincy last won a MIVA Tournament match in 2011, but that win was on the road as a No. 6 seed against Ball State.
No. 2 seed Loyola (17-8, 11-3 MIVA) vs. No. 7 seed Lindenwood (8-13, 4-10 MIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. Saturday in Chicago
Season series: Loyola beat Lindenwood in four games in February and in three games in March.
All-time series: Loyola leads 22-3
MIVA Tournament championships: Loyola (2013, 2014, 2015); Lindenwood (none)
NCAA Tournament championships: Loyola (2014, 2015); Lindenwood (none)
Next up on the bracket: The winner of this match will advance to the semifinals and play the winner of the McKendree versus Purdue Fort Wayne quarterfinals match.
Loyola player to know: Freshman outside attacker Parker Van Buren is sixth in the nation with a 4.30 kills per game average and is in the nation’s top 30 hitting .334.
Lindenwood player to know: Outside attacker Diego Negron leads the conference with a 0.46 aces per game average and is among the national leaders with a 3.24 kills per game average.
Stats to know: This is the second consecutive year these two teams have met in the quarterfinals. Loyola has won all but once in the MIVA Tournament quarterfinals during the rally scoring era, including defeating Lindenwood last season. Lindenwood has not advanced beyond the MIVA Tournament quarterfinals since 2015. In addition, a No. 7 seed has never won in the MIVA Tournament quarterfinals.
No. 3 seed McKendree (14-10, 9-5 MIVA) vs. No. 6 seed Purdue Fort Wayne (15-12, 6-8 MIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Lebanon, Illinois
Season series: Purdue Fort Wayne defeated McKendree in five games in February, and then McKendree beat Purdue Fort Wayne in four games in March.
All-time series: Tied 8-8
MIVA Tournament championships: McKendree (none); Purdue Fort Wayne (1991, 1992, 1999, 2006, 2007)
NCAA Tournament championships: McKendree (none); Purdue Fort Wayne (none)
Next up on the bracket: The winner of this match will advance to the semifinals and play the winner of the Loyola versus Lindenwood quarterfinals match.
McKendree player to know: Outside attacker Patrick Ross is in the top 10 of the MIVA with both a 3.45 kills per game average and a .316 attack percentage.
Purdue Fort Wayne player to know: Opposite Jon Diedrich is in the nation’s top 15 with a 3.94 kills per game average, including having more than 20 kills in each of the final three regular season matches.
Stats to know: This is the second consecutive year the Bearcats and Mastodons have met in the quarterfinals. McKendree has never lost a postseason home match, including its win against Purdue Fort Wayne last year. In addition, Purdue Fort Wayne has not won at McKendree since 2018. It also has not won a road match in the MIVA Tournament since beating Ohio State in the 2007 MIVA Tournament finals.
No. 4 seed Lewis (15-11, 7-7 MIVA) vs. No. 5 seed Ohio State (13-13, 7-7 MIVA)
Match vitals: 6 p.m. in Romeoville, Illinois
Season series: Lewis beat Ohio State in four games in both February and March.
All-time series: Ohio State leads 38-25
MIVA Tournament championships: Lewis (1996, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2012, 2019, 2021); Ohio State (1969, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987,1993, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2017, 2018)
NCAA Tournament championships: Ohio State (2011, 2016, 2017); Lewis (2003)
Next up on the bracket: The winner of this match will advance to the semifinals and play the winner of the Ball State versus Quincy quarterfinals match.
Lewis player to know: Middle attacker Tyler Mitchem is second in the nation with a 1.34 blocks per game average and sixth in the nation with a .452 attack percentage.
Ohio State player to know: Outside attacker Jacob Pasteur is ninth in the nation with a 4.00 kills per game average and had 16 kills on a .448 attack percentage in a regular season finale upset against Loyola.
Stats to know: This is the first time Lewis and Ohio State have ever met in the MIVA Tournament quarterfinals and the first time the Flyers will have a home postseason match against the Buckeyes. Lewis has advanced to the MIVA Tournament semifinals every season since 2007. Ohio State has not lost in the MIVA Tournament quarterfinals in two consecutive years since 2013 and 2014. In addition, the Buckeyes have lost five consecutive MIVA Tournament road matches dating back to 2006.