No. 13 MVB Wins Rivalry Match at No. 8 Ohio State to Stay atop of MIVA Standings

Thursday, March 14

Columbus, OH

7 pm

Ball State University

15-7,8-1MIVA

Ohio State University

15-6,8-3MIVA

Ball St.

Ohio St.

No. 13 MVB Wins Rivalry Match at No. 8 Ohio State to Stay atop of MIVA Standings

March 14, 2024 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

Patrick Rogers Registers Career-High 24-kills against the Buckeyes

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The 13th-ranked Cardinals were able to pull off the 3-1 rivalry victory tonight on the road against the eighth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes to stay atop of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association standings.

With the win, Ball State improves to 15-7 on the year and 8-1 in MIVA action while Ohio State drops to 15-6 overall and 8-3 in conference play.

Patrick Rogers led the Cardinals with nine kills to open the first set which helped push Ball State past its arch nemesis Ohio State to a 34-32 victory. The Cardinals trailed the Buckeyes at the start of the frame but then took a late 16-13 edge after a kill from Rodney Wallace. Of course, the Buckeyes rallied back as both teams traded points. Ball State was able to have back-to-back strong defensive plays to secure the early 1-0 match edge over Ohio State.

Ball State struggled to get things going in frame two after falling behind early to Ohio State. The Buckeyes prevailed throughout offensively and was able to even the match 1-1 with their 25-15 second set win.

The third period was tightly contested just like the previous two but this time the Cardinals came out on top by a score of 25-22. It was Ball State's defense that held Ohio State to a .171 hitting percentage which helped the Cardinals take back the 2-1 advantage in the match.

The Cardinals continued to fight and were resilient to not let the match go to a fifth set. The frame was knotted 24-24, but a kill from Rogers and then a hitting error from Ohio State gave BSU the 26-24 advantage which sealed the victory.

For the match, Rogers tallied a career best 24 kills off 47 swings for a .383 hitting percentage while Tinaishe Ndavazocheva registered 16 kills. Lucas Machado turned in an impressive performance dishing out 41 assists.

The Ball State men's volleyball team continues MIVA action when it returns to Worthen Arena Saturday against Lindenwood. First serve is at 7 pm ET.