Ball State University
3-0,0-0MIVA
Stanford University
0-1,0-0MPSF
No. 5 Men's Volleyball Takes Down No. 13 Stanford in a 3-0 Sweep
January 11, 2025 | Men's Volleyball
It was a strong team effort from Ball State, with three Cardinals recording over ten kills. Rajé Alleyne led the group, hitting .483 and totaling 15 kills, two blocks and an ace on the night. Two other offensive powerhouses were Patrick Rogers and Tinaishe Ndavazocheva, with 11 and 10 kills respectively. Lucas Machado was also a great asset, adding 35 assists, two aces and two block assists.
On the defensive end, Vanis Buckholz protected the net with five block assists and a block solo.
It was a slow start for the Cardinals as they found themselves down 1-5 early in set one. There was a lot of back and forth between the two teams with Ball State struggling to find momentum, but a few Stanford errors and an ace from Machado helped get the Cardinals back in the game. They finally evened the score at 20-20 after a big kill from Ndavazocheva. A kill from Alleyne gave the set to Ball State, finishing the first frame 25-22.
Ball State led Stanford for most of the second frame, but the Cardinal did not fall easily. In a very close set, the Cardinals secured a 26-24 win following a service ace from Ndavazocheva.
With the Cardinals leading 2-0, they carried all the momentum into the final set. While leading 19-16, they ended on a six-point scoring run, closing out the match on back-to-back blocks from Alleyne, Buckholz, and Rogers.
As a team, Ball State held Stanford to a .258 hitting percentage in comparison to their .411.
Ball State men's volleyball will look to continue their sweep against Stanford in another match on Saturday (Jan. 11) evening at 9 p.m. ET.
