MVB Falls to UCLA in Phoenix

Saturday, January 17

Phoenix, Ariz.

9 pm

Ball State University

3-1,0-0MIVA

UCLA

3-0,1-0MPSF

Ball St.

UCLA

January 18, 2026 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men's volleyball team brought a competitive fight to day one of two at the First Point Collegiate Challenge, taking set one against no. 1 UCLA but falling to the bruins 3-1 (25-22, 24-26, 24-26, 20-25) at the Phoenix Convention Center.

Patrick Rogers led the charge Saturday night, tallying 18 kills while hitting a season-high .593 along with two service aces, six digs and four blocks. Ryan Louis recorded 11 kills with one service ace and two digs.

Lucas Machado's energy on the floor opened great opportunities for the Cardinals (3-1, 0-0 MIVA), serving 40 assists with five kills and six digs.

Louis accumulated over half of his kill total in the opening set, scoring six to help push Ball State over the Bruins (3-0, 0-0 MPSF) to begin the match. UCLA was crutched with service errors in set one, suffering six compared to Ball State's two.

The match saw a total of 30 tied scores between sets two and three. The Cardinals had a 24-23 advantage over UCLA during the final stretch of the second, but crucial attack errors in favor of the Bruins tied the contest.

Jacob Surette had four straight serves that generated a four-point run for Ball State, including two service aces, that brought the Cardinals up 7-4 in the third set. UCLA responded with four straight of its own, and the set remained back-and-forth until a Bruins' service ace put them up 2-1 overall.

Braydon Savitski-Lynde earned four of his seven total kills in the fourth set, along with a service ace. Ball State's stamina began to tire mid-way through the final set, as UCLA pulled ahead to a six-point advantage, closing the set 25-20.

The Cardinals look to bounce back tomorrow against no. 11 Stanford at 6 p.m. ET for the second day of the First Point Collegiate Challenge. Broadcast of the match will be available on ESPN+.