MVB Bounces Back with Win Over Stanford

Sunday, January 18

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 pm

Ball State University

4-1,0-0MIVA

Stanford University

0-3,0-0MPSF

Ball St.

Stanford

January 18, 2026 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

PHOENIX, Ariz. – The Ball State men's volleyball program finished day two of the First Point Collegiate Challenge Sunday evening, taking a 3-1 (25-17, 25-18, 23-25, 25-23) win over no. 11 Stanford at the Phoenix Convention Center.

Ball State's offense saw three Cardinals (4-1, 0-0 MIVA) record double-digit kills, led by outside hitter Patrick Rogers who delivered a match-high 17 kills while hitting .577. Ryan Louis recorded 12 kills, along with Wil Basilio who was credited with 10.

Rogers and Louis also led the men's squad with three service aces each, with Rogers bringing his season total to 11. Ball State ended the match with eight total aces, while Stanford finished with just two after four sets.

Setter Lucas Machado recorded his second straight match with 40 or more assists, tallying 42 against The Cardinal (0-3, 0-0 MPSF). Machado also went five-for-five on attacks while contributing four digs.

The Cardinals held Stanford to a .271 hitting percentage through the first two sets of the match, compared to a .489 clip by Ball State, contributing to a combined 15-point advantage between the two. The red and white totaled 6.5 team blocks between the first two, paced by Jacob Surette who had five total blocks in set two alone. He finished the match with six, followed by Louis who had four.

Stanford bounced back in set three, limiting Ball State to a .111 clip. A three-point run gave Stanford the lead at 11-10 and widened the difference to as much as four. Ball State brought it back to a one-point set at 23-24, but a kill from Stanford's Theo Snoey gave The Cardinal its lone set win of the match.

The Cardinals had a four-point advantage in set four at the 12-8 mark, and when Stanford brought it back to a tie set at 22-22, the two teams traded until back-to-back kills from Louis and Rogers brought the match to a close.

Ball State returns home to Worthen Arena to host Maryville Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. ET. The match will be available on ESPN+, and tickets to the match are available here.