Mastodon MVB Heads to No. 13 Ohio State and No. 11 Ball State

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Purdue Fort Wayne men's volleyball will hit the road to play at No. 13 Ohio State and No. 11 Ball State this week in the last two MIVA matches of the regular season.

Game Day Information (Thursday)
Who: Ohio State Buckeyes
When: Thursday, April 6 | 7 PM
Where: Columbus, Ohio | Covelli Center
Live Stats: Link
Watch: B1G+
Game Notes: Purdue Fort Wayne | Ohio State | MIVA

Game Day Information (Saturday)
Who: Ball State Cardinals
When: Saturday, April 8 | 7 PM
Where: Muncie, Ind. | Worthen Arena
Live Stats: Link
Watch: ESPN3
Game Notes: Purdue Fort Wayne | Ball State | MIVA

Know Your Foes
• No. 13 Ohio State is 17-9 and 9-3 in the MIVA. The Buckeyes are playing their best volleyball, currently on a six-match winning streak, which includes a five-set win over No. 1 Penn State. The Buckeyes are led by Jacob Pasteur, who has been the MIVA Offensive Player of the Week three times and the AVCA National Player of the Week once. He is averaging 3.79 kills per set.
• No. 11 Ball State is 16-8, 9-3 MIVA and is on a four-match winning streak with wins over the teams currently in the bottom half of the MIVA. The Cardinals have a two-pronged attack in Kaleb Jenness and Tinaishe Ndavazocheva, who both are above three kills per set.

Series Histories
• Ohio State leads the all-time series against the Mastodons 80-40 and has won the last three meetings. The Mastodons have not won in Columbus since 2014. The 'Dons' last win in 2021 saw Jon Diedrich go off for 24 kills with a .636 hitting clip. The 'Dons hit .490 as a team in that match.
• Ball State leads the series 80-33 and has won the last six. That came after three-consecutive wins for the Mastodons. Purdue Fort Wayne's last win in Muncie was in 2019, when Pelegrin Vargas had 19 kills to sweep the Cardinals.

Background 'Bler
Purdue Fort Wayne handed Loyola Chicago its first MIVA loss of the season with a five-set win over the Ramblers. Jon Diedrich had 19 kills, Bryce Walker had 14 kills with a .520 hitting percentage and a career-high nine blocks, and Sergio Carrillo recorded a double-double with 40 assists and 11 digs.

Movin' Up The List
Jon Diedrich joined the 1,000-kill club against No. 14 Charleston (March 17). He is among the 20 Mastodons that have eclipsed this mark. Here's where he ranks.
13. Darryl Shank - 1310 (2008-11)
14. Raul Papaleo - 1264 (1990-93)
15. Ted Owen - 1206 (1984-87)
16. Eddie Rivera - 1107 (2011-14)
17. Jon Diedrich - 1082 (2020-23)

Hello, My Name Is Bryce And I'll Be Your Server
Bryce Walker is moving up the all-time ace list in program history.
13. Loren Gebert - 97 (1983-86)
14. Scott Lane - 95 (1999-00)
15. Hector Soto - 90 (1997-00)
16. Omar Rivera - 89 (2012-15)
17. Bryce Walker - 82 (2021-23)

Block Party
Ryan Steponaitis (1.00), Bryce Walker (0.98) and Mark Frazier (0.84) are all in the top-10 in the MIVA in blocks per set.

Bryce the Beast
Bryce Walker has the second-best career hitting percentage among active MIVA players with a .342 clip. His percentage of .340 this season is the best in the conference.

Now Walk It Out
Bryce Walker's career mark of 0.35 aces per set is the second-most among active middle blockers in the country and the most in the MIVA. This mark is also top-25 overall and second in the MIVA among all positions, second to teammate Zach Solomon.

Zany Zach
Zach Solomon is the MIVA career leader with 0.37 aces per set with at least a full season played.

Yes, No (ah), Maybe
Noah Melendez is the active career leader in Division I/II with 757 digs in his five years. The next closest is Belmont Abbey's Daniel Cerqua with 713.

3000-Assist Club
Sergio Carrillo recorded his 3,000th assist last week against Quincy. Carrillo has the fourth-most career assists among all Division I/II student-athletes with in his five seasons, now totaling 3,038. He is one of four players in the NCAA with 3,000 assists.

Last Time Out
Purdue Fort Wayne went 2-0 last weekend, picking up 3-1 wins over Quincy and Lindenwood. Carlos Mercado had a career-high 16 kills against Lindenwood on Senior Night.

Coming Up
The Mastodons will turn their attention to the MIVA Tournament. The 'Dons could earn anything from the No. 2 seed to the No. 6 seed.

~ Feel the Rumble ~

Mastodon MVB Heads to No. 13 Ohio State and No. 11 Ball State

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Players Mentioned

Sergio Carrillo

Jon Diedrich

Mark Frazier

Noah Melendez

Carlos Mercado

Zach Solomon

Ryan Steponaitis

Bryce Walker

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics