Ball State mens’ volleyball coach Donan Cruz raised on Maui

LOS ANGELES >> A guy from Indiana coaching in Hawaii. A guy from Hawaii coaching in Indiana.

As both would say, “Go figgah.”

Thursday’s second semifinal in the NCAA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship features two coaches who share a passion for island-style volleyball. Where team is just another word for ohana.

Guam-born, Maui-raised Donan Cruz brought that culture to Ball State this season and, in his first year at the Muncie, Ind., school, the newly named American Volleyball Coaches Association Coach of the Year has the Cardinals (23-3) in their first national semifinal since 2002.

Second-seeded Ball State faces defending NCAA champion Hawaii (25-5), the Warriors coached by Charlie Wade who graduated from high school some 90 miles north up I-69 in Warsaw, Ind. The 2019 AVCA Coach of the Year, Wade is in his 13th season with the Hawaii men — he also was Wahine coach Dave Shoji’s top assistant for 11 campaigns — and has the Warriors in their third consecutive national semifinal, fourth in five seasons.

Ball State is seeking to reach its first national final in 16 attempts when taking the court at iconic Pauley Pavilion. The Warriors are looking to become the first team since UCLA (1993-96) to make a third consecutive appearance in the title match.

There are two outcomes guaranteed on Thursday: somebody’s season will be pau and the match will be played with aloha.

“It’s a pretty unique situation, having played them earlier this season and now late,” Wade said. “We’re not the same team as we were then, we were missing a couple of guys, and we’ve continued to evolve, and I’m sure Ball State has evolved, too.

“I’ve had a good relationship with (Cruz) for a while. He first reached out to me when he was at Grand View, they came out and played us (in 2017). And (Ball State) will open next season in Honolulu.”

That home-and-home agreement didn’t exactly go as planned for then-No. 1 Hawaii in January. The Warriors’ first road trip started off with two losses in Worthen Arena, 3-0 on Jan. 29 and 3-2 on Jan. 31.

Hawaii was without three starters in setter Jakob Thelle and middle Guilherme Voss (COVID protocol) and hitter Chaz Galloway (injured during Jan. 28 practice). Also not cleared to play was key reserve hitter Filip Humler.

“Even with all that, I thought Hawaii was a really good team,” said Cruz, a Baldwin High graduate. “They are deep and they are the defending champions.

“I grew up watching the UH men on Channel Five. I see the little kids at their matches now (on TV) and I can relate.”

Cruz, who won two NAIA championships at Grand View, said his favorite UH players were All-Americans Yuval Katz (1995-96), Jason Ring (1996-97) and Vernon Podlewski (2001-02). All three reached the NCAA championship match, Katz and Ring on the Hawaii team that lost to UCLA in five in 1996, and Maui High graduate Podlewski the libero on the 2002 championship team whose title was later vacated due to the use of an ineligible player.

“I’d have to say Yuval was my favorite out of those,” Cruz said. “I loved watching that high toss on the serve. I tried to do that.”

Part of the volleyball culture that Cruz has brought to Ball State “is a calmness he has in big moments,” said Cardinal All-American setter Quinn Isaacson. “It’s great what he’s brought. And he wears sandals in cool weather.”

“There’s this family aspect,” added senior All-American opposite Kaleb Jenness. “He’s adopted all of us into his family.”

Obviously Cruz is still working on inserting the terms “slippahs” and “ohana” into the BSU vocabulary but the Cardinals have learned well the island passion for the sport that they share with the team they’ll see across the net Thursday.

Awards time

Wednesday’s Championship Social event at UCLA’s Luskin Conference Center saw several other individuals recognized, including Cruz as Coach of the Year, Long Beach State freshman Alex Nikolov doubling up on AVCA Newcomer and Player of the Year, and Hawaii junior hitter Kana’i Akana, the Elite 90 Academic Award for men’s volleyball.

“It’s humbling,” said Cruz, a four-time NAIA COY winner during his 10 seasons at Grand View. “It’s a great honor to be voted this by your peers.”

The Elite 90 Award recognizes the athlete with the highest GPA among teams in the final four of a national tournament in the NCAA’s 90 sports. Akana, a 2018 Punahou graduate who transferred after two years at BYU, has a 3.95 GPA as a finance major.

Nikolov became the first freshman to win national player of the year. It is the seventh time a Beach player has won the top honor, and fourth time in seven years.

It was a somewhat controversial selection since Nikolov wasn’t the Big West Player of the Year. That went to Hawaii junior setter Jacob Thelle.

Also recognized was UCLA’s John Hawks as assistant of the year. That award went to Warrior assistants Joshua Walker (2019) and Milan Zarkovic (2020).

Family legacy

Warrior sophomore hitter/serving specialist Keoni Thiim is the second of his family to play at Pauley Pavilion. His uncle, Aaron Wilton, was an All-American on the 1996 team that lost to UCLA 3-2 for the championship. That team was coached by Thiim’s grandfather Mike Wilton.

On Wednesday, Thiim said he hasn’t heard from extended-family members yet but “I’m waiting for the ‘Wilton Call,” the Kalani High graduate said.

By the numbers

This is Hawaii’s ninth NCAA Tournament appearance, fourth straight and eighth since 2015. The Warriors are 0-1 in the play-in match, 1-0 in the opening round, 4-2 in the semifinals, and 2-2 in the final.

The Warriors’ first appearance was in 1995, the Centennial Celebration of volleyball held in Springfield, Mass. They lost to defending national champion Penn State 3-2 then to Ball State 3-1 in what would be the last third-place match played.

This is Ball State’s 16th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Cardinals are 0-15 in the semifinals and finished third eight times. They are 8-5 in 13 third-place matches.

Ball State played in the inaugural NCAA Tournament in 1970, hosted by UCLA at Pauley Pavilion, falling to Long Beach State in the semifinal and to UC Santa Barbara for third place.

Hawaii and Ball State both were in the 2002 championship hosted by Penn State but did not meet. The Cardinals lost to Pepperdine, 3-1, in the semis, with the Warriors defeating Pepperdine 3-1 for their first title (later vacated).

Thursday’s match is the first time Hawaii and Ball State will have met in the NCAA semifinal.

The Warriors hold a 12-5 series lead over the Cardinals but Ball State has won the last two meetings (this season) and three out the last five.