Ball State University
Brigham Young University
Men's Volleyball Hosts Top-Ten Matchup in Worthen Thursday and Friday
January 15, 2025 | Men's Volleyball
No. 6 Ball State (3-1)Â vs. No. 5 BYU (4-0)
Last Meeting: Ball State 3, BYU 1 (2/4/23)
Series History:Â BYU leads the series 14-6
Coach Cruz: Ball State head coach Donan Cruz enters his fourth season at the helm of the Cardinals and owns an overall record at BSU of 67-24 (.736) along with a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) Tournament Championship, three MIVA regular season titles and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
First Serve: These teams last met in Worthen Arena in 2023. They went 1-1 with the Cougars taking the first match (Feb. 2, 2023) 3-1 and the Cardinals answering with a 3-1 win in the rematch (Feb. 4, 2023). Noteworthy names from these matches include Tinaishe Ndavazocheva and Vanis Buckholz who each had a big impact on the court against the Cougars.Â
Last Serve: Ball State returns to Worthen after two matches in Stanford, California against the Cardinal. They split their weekend matches, winning the first in a 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-16) sweep before falling to Stanford in a close 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 30-28) battle. Rajé Alleyne led the Cardinals both nights, adding a total of 27 kills, two aces and five blocks.Â
Scouting BYU: The fifth-ranked Cougars are currently 4-0 on the season with a pair of wins over Ohio State and St. Thomas Aquinas College. The Cougars opened their year with back-to-back 3-1 wins over the OSU Buckeyes on the road. Most recently, they swept the Spartans in two matches over the weekend to stay in the win column. Leading the BYU offense are Luke Benson and Keoni Thiim who currently hit .464 and .423 from the floor, respectively.Â
Preseason All-MIVA:Â Â The 2025 roster welcomes back many well-known faces and also offers several exciting new additions. Two impactful returners include senior outside hitter Tinaishe Ndavazocheva and junior outside hitter Patrick Rogers. Ndavazocheva and Rogers were named to the Preseason All-MIVA team, along with Cardinal newcomer Rajé Alleyne. Alleyne, the opposite senior transfer from Quincy, brings a wealth of experience at the net. Last season, Alleyene led the MIVA in kills per set (4.41) and in points scored (421.5), averaging 5.08 points per set. He also earned First Team All-MIVA honors and AVCA All-American Honorable Mention. Â
Looking Ahead: Ball State men's volleyball will stay on their home court for two more matches next week against Lees-McRae on Thursday (Jan. 23) and Maryville on Friday (Jan. 24). Both matches will start at 7 p.m. ET in Worthen Arena.Â
