MVB Travels to Phoenix for the First Point Collegiate Challenge

Saturday, January 17

Phoenix, Ariz.

9 pm

Ball State University

UCLA

Photo by: Brayden Goins / Ball State Athletics

MVB Travels to Phoenix for the First Point Collegiate Challenge

January 16, 2026 | Men's Volleyball

2026 Ticket Information

No. 16 Ball State Men's Volleyball (3-0; 0-0 MIVA) vs UCLA (2-0, 0-0 MPSF) / Stanford (0-1, 0-0 MPSF)
Match 4 vs. UCLA	Saturday, Jan. 17 at 9 p.m. ET Live Stats \| ESPN+
Match 5 vs. Stanford	Sunday, Jan. 18 at 6 p.m. ET Live Stats \| ESPN+
Game Notes	Ball State \| UCLA \| Stanford
Social Media	X \| Instagram \| Facebook

This Week in Ball State Men's Volleyball: The Ball State men's volleyball program hits the road for its first trip of the 2026 season to compete at the First Point Collegiate Challenge. The Cardinals travel to Phoenix, Ariz. to face off agaisnt No. 1 UCLA Jan. 17 at 9 p.m. ET and No. 11 Stanford Jan. 18 at 6 p.m. ET.

Last Serve: The Cardinals got the job done last weekend, besting Missouri S&T (Jan. 9) and NJIT (Jan. 10) in four sets each to improve to a 3-0 mark to begin 2026. In a 3-1 (26-28, 25-22, 25-14, 25-20) victory over Missouri S&T, opposite Ryan Louis led the Cardinals with a career-high 25 kills on .537 hitting, adding five blocks and nine digs, while Patrick Rogers chipped in 16 kills. Wil Basilio posted his first career double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs. Setter Lucas Machado matched his career high with 54 assists as Ball State rebounded from a first-set loss, highlighted by a dominant third set that featured a nine-point service run from Braydon Savitski-Lynde.

The weekend at Worthen ended with a 3–1 (25-13, 21-25, 25-12, 25-15) win over NJIT Saturday night. The Cardinals hit .391 as a team and held the Highlanders to a .080 clip, dominating at the net with a 15.5–3 blocking advantage. Patrick Rogers led the way with 16 kills on .522 hitting and three aces, while Ryan Louis added 11 kills and a career-high seven block assists. Ball State controlled the match after a brief setback in the second set, cruising through the final two games.

Match History – UCLA: Beginning in 1964, The Cardinals have gotten the better of the Bruins on three occasions throughout their all-time series. The first came from a 3-0 (15-5, 15-12, 15-11) win in March of 1995, breaking a 14-match streak in favor of UCLA. In 2008, Ball State picked up two wins at home, taking down the Bruins in four (23-30-30-24,30-19, 30-24) on Feb. 29 and in three (30-21, 30-26, 30-24) on March 1.

Scouting UCLA: The No. 1 ranked Bruins head into the weekend 2-0 with shutout victories over No. 15 McKendree (Jan. 9) and Concordia.

After reaching its third straight NCAA Championship final appearance in 2025, UCLA returned three out of their four All-Americans (setter Andrew Rowan, middle blocker Cameron Thorne and outside hitter Zach Rama) for the 2026 campaign.

Rama was a standout in UCLA's first week of 2026, averaging 4.50 kills per set while hitting .420. He was named MPSF Offensive Player of the Week for his performance.

The middle blocking duo of Thorne and Micah Wong Diallo have made their impacts at the net in the Bruins' first two matches. Wong Diallo captured 14 kills on 17 attempts during opening weekend, while Thorne tallied 13 kills on 16 attempts.

Rowan totaled 76 assists in the Bruins' first two matches, recording 42 versus McKendree and 34 versus Concordia. The setter also helped UCLA to a .503 hitting percentage while contributing seven service aces and five blocks that weekend.

Match History – Stanford: The Cardinals met Stanford for two straight matches in 2025, splitting the weekend. Ball State earned its first win over the program since 2000 with a 3-0 sweep on Jan.10, but fell to Stanford the following night in straight sets.

Scouting Stanford: No. 11 Stanford fell to No. 9 Lewis in three straight sets (30-28, 25-21, 25-22) to begin its 2026 season (Jan. 10). The Cardinal was led by opposite Moses Wagner who finished with 12 kills while hitting .240 along with six digs. Alex Rottman added seven kills on .417 hitting.

The Cardinal hit .231 as a team and were outblocked 11.0–2.5 by the Flyers.

Setters Theoren Brouilette and Ryan Gant shared combined for 33 assists, with Brouilette recording 21 in the first two sets and Grant tallying 12 in the third. Brouilette also recorded a team-high seven digs.

Preseason All-MIVA: Outside hitter Patrick Rogers and setter Lucas Machado earned 2026 Preseason All-MIVA honors, with Rogers being named MIVA Preseason Player of the Year. After recording a team-high 363 kills on a .271 hitting percentage and a team-leading 33 service aces, Rogers was named All-MIVA first team and an AVCA All-American Honorable Mention. He then spent the offseason with the US National Team, winning gold at the 2025 NORCECA Final Six and earning tournament MVP honors. Machado totaled a team-best 771 assists in 2025, averaging 8.38 per set, posted a career-high 54 assists against Purdue Fort Wayne on Feb. 26, reached 40 or more assists seven times, and added 117 digs, 49 total blocks and 22 service aces.

AVCA Preseason Poll: Ball State entered the 2026 season ranked #16 in the AVCA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Preseason Poll with a total of 144 points. After the first week of the regular season, the Cardinals remain ranked No. 16.

Coach Iandolo: Mike Iandolo was named the Cardinals' head coach on Dec. 16, removing the interim label he held since last June. After joining Ball State as an assistant coach prior to the 2022 season, Iandolo helped the men to a 23-4 record, MIVA regular season and tournament titles, and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002. Since 2022, Iandolo assisted the Cardinals to three 20-win seasons and three MIVA regular season championships. His promotion ahead of the 2026 season marks the second head coaching role of his career, following a three-year stint at the University of Charleston (W.Va.).