Ball State University
Ohio State University
Men's Volleyball Hosts Ohio State, Lindenwood This Week
February 26, 2025 | Men's Volleyball
| No. 11 Ball State Men's Volleyball (10-5; 3-2 MIVA) vs No. 16 Ohio State / Lindenwood | |
| Match 16 vs. Ohio State (6-7; 3-2 MIVA) | Thursday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. Tickets | Live Stats |  ESPN+ | Black Out |
| Match 17 vs. Lindenwood (3-8; 0-5 MIVA) | Saturday, Mar. 1 at 5 p.m. Tickets | Live Stats | ESPN+ |
| Game Notes | Ball State | Ohio State | Lindenwood |
| Social Media | X | Instagram | Facebook |
No. 11 Ball State (10-5, 3-2 MIVA) vs No. 16 Ohio State (6-7, 3-2 MIVA)
Last Meeting: Ohio State 3, Ball State 0 (3/2124)
No. 11 Ball State (10-5, 3-2 MIVA) vs Lindenwood (3-8, 0-5 MIVA)
Last Meeting: Ball State 3, Lindenwood 0 (2/2025)
Series History:Â Ball State leads the series 25-5
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This Week in Ball State Men's Volleyball: The Cardinals will welcome Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) rival Ohio State to Worthen Arena Thursday (Feb. 27) evening for a 7 p.m. first serve. In celebration of the first official season of boys volleyball recognized by the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA), Ball State will be offering free tickets to all high school volleyball players (boys and girls) with proof of attendance to their local high school. All fans will be encouraged to wear black to Thursday's match to black out the Buckeyes. Following Ohio State, the Cardinals will host Lindenwood on Saturday (Mar. 1) for a 5 p.m. serve.Â
Last Serve:Â
• The Cardinals split 1-1 on last week's road trip, beating Lindenwood 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-22) before falling 2-3 (24-26, 25-23, 22-25, 25-21, 10-15) to McKendreeÂ
• Patrick Rogers and Wil Basilio led the Cardinals' efforts against Lindenwood. Rogers hit .444 (10-2-18) from the floor while adding two aces, two block solos and three digs. Basilio hit an impressive .636 (8-1-11) with the addition of an ace and four blocks to help hold the Lions to a .135 hitting percentage.Â
• Ryan Louis led the team against McKendree, hitting a new career high of 21 kills. Rogers also hit a new career high, recording 15 digs on the night.Â
First Serve vs Ohio State:
• The Cardinals and the Buckeyes split the series 1-1 last season. Ball State won the first match on the road in Columbus, beating the home team 3-1 (34-32, 15-25, 25-22, 26-24). Ohio State evened the score later in the season at Worthen Arena, beating the Cardinals 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-18).Â
• Ball State holds a 13-11 record over the Buckeyes at home.Â
• In the last 10 matches, the Cardinals lead the Buckeyes 6-4.Â
Scouting Ohio State:Â
• The Buckeyes are coming off a 3-1 (28-30, 25-22, 25-18, 25-22) road victory over Lindenwood, securing the season sweep over the Lions after winning in another 3-1 (25-12, 26-24, 22-25, 25-19) match earlier in the season.Â
• Ohio State is 1-8 against ranked opponents so far this season. The team's only ranked win came against No. 1 UCLA at the First Point Collegiate Challenge in Austin, Texas. The Buckeyes pulled off a 3-1 (25-20, 26-24, 13-25. 25-17) upset, knocking the Bruins out of the top spot on the AVCA National Collegiate Poll.Â
• In the MIVA, Ohio State is ranked second for service aces on the season, averaging 1.56 aces per set.Â
• Junior opposite, Shane Wetzel, leads the team in multiple categories, ranking among the MIVA's top players. He is ranked third in the conference for points, service aces and kills. Currently, Wetzel averages 4.42 points per set and has added a total of 213 points, putting him 20th in the NCAA. For aces, Wetzel has recorded a total of 23, averaging .48 per set. In kills, Wetzel has a total of 181 and averages 3.77 per set. He is also ranked fifth in the conference for hitting percentage with a .336 (181-65-345) clip.Â
• Outside hitter, Stanislaw Chacinski, is ranked third in the MIVA with a hitting percentage of .361 (138-38-277).Â
• In the NCAA, Ohio State is the 19th ranked team for service aces, averaging 1.58 aces per set and totaling 76 so far on the season. The Buckeyes are also the 18th top assisting team, averaging 11.56 assists per set with a recorded 555 assists. For hitting percentage and kills, Ohio State is ranked 20th with a clip of .286 and an average of 12.17 kills per set.Â
First Serve vs Lindenwood:Â
• In their first matchup of the 2025 season, Ball State swept Lindenwood on the road in St. Charles, Missouri.Â
• Overall, the Cardinals went 2-1 over the Lions last season. Ball State won the first match 3-2 and swept the second match in a 3-0 fashion before falling 3-2 to Lindenwood in the MIVA semifinals.Â
• Ball State holds a 16-1 home record against Lindenwood and has won 9 of the last 10 matches overall.Â
Scouting Lindenwood:Â
• Lindenwood enters the week 0-5 in conference play. The Lions will head to Fort Wayne on Friday (Feb. 28) looking for their first conference win against Purdue Fort Wayne before heading down to Muncie.Â
• The Lions are currently ranked second in the MIVA and eighth in the NCAA for kills, averaging 12.78 kills per set with a total of 524. The team is also ranked third (MIVA) and 13th (NCAA) for assists with an average of 11.76 per set and a total of 482.Â
• With clip of .298 (524-193-1112) , the Lions rank 15th in the NCAA.Â
• Setter, Zach Solomon, is ranked fifth in the conference and 16th in the NCAA for assists, adding a total of 389 and averaging 9.97 assists per set.Â
Ball State in the MIVA:Â
• The Cardinals lead the conference in blocks, averaging 2.69 blocks per set with a total of 142.5.Â
• The team is also ranked second for points and hitting percentage. Ball State currently averages 16.69 points per set and has earned a total of 884.5. For hitting percentage, the Cardinals currently have a .335 (668-198-1402) clip, second only to Loyola.Â
Ball State in the NCAA:Â
• Ball State is among the winningest men's volleyball teams in the NCAA. Going into the 2025 season, the Cardinals claimed the fifth highest all-time winning percentage at .701 (1283-546). Loyola was fourth at .701 (577-246), Ohio State third at .703 (1189-502), Penn State second at .755 and UCLA led the NCAA with the highest winning percentage of .793 (1482-387). Ball State was also ranked fifth for the most amount of wins from a program in the last five years with 88 wins and a .704 percentage. Rounding out the top five were Lincoln Memorial with 89 wins, UCLA with 104, Penn State with 106 and Hawaii leading the past five years with 111 program wins.Â
• As a team, Ball State goes into the week ranked second in the NCAA for blocks, averaging 2.625 blocks per set.Â
• With a .341 (707-205-1471) clip, the Cardinals hold the seventh highest hitting percentage in the NCAA. The team also ranks 12th for kills, averaging 12.62 kills per set.Â
• The Cardinals are ranked 16th for assists with an average of 11.57 assists per set and a total of 648.Â
Team Leaders:Â
• Lucas Machado is among the top of the conference in assists with the third highest average at 10.14 assists per set, totaling 497. His numbers place him 10th in the NCAA.Â
• Defensively, Vanis Buckholz and Braydon Savitski-Lynde are ranked fourth and fifth in the conference for blocks. Buckholz averages 1.079 blocks per set with a total of 41, placing him 13th in the NCAA. Savitski-Lynde averages 1.048 and has recorded a total of 44 on the season, placing him 20th in the NCAA .Â
Coach Cruz:Â
• Ball State head coach Donan Cruz enters his fourth season at the helm of the Cardinals and owns an overall record at BSU of 74-28 (.725) along with a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) Tournament Championship, three MIVA regular season titles and an NCAA Tournament appearance.Â
Looking Ahead: The Cardinals will hit the road next Tuesday (Mar. 4) for their first match of the season against Quincy. The team will then return home Friday (Mar. 7) to host Loyola Chicago.Â
