MVB Returns to Worthen for Two Home Contests

Thursday, January 22

Muncie, IN

7 pm

Ball State University

Maryville

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January 21, 2026 | Men's Volleyball

2026 Ticket Information

No. 12 Ball State Men's Volleyball (4-1; 0-0 MIVA) vs Maryville (MO) (0-3, 0-0 GLVC) / No. 20 Charleston (W.Va.) (2-1, 0-0 EIVA)
Match 6 vs. Maryville (MO)	Thursday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. ET Live Stats \| ESPN+ \| Tickets
Match 7 vs. No. 20 Charleston (W.Va.)	Friday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. ET Live Stats \| ESPN+ \| Tickets
Game Notes	Ball State \| Maryville \| Charleston
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This Week in Ball State Men's Volleyball: The Ball State men's volleyball program returns to Worthen Arena for matches Jan. 22 and 23 versus Maryville (MO) and no. 20 Charleston (W.Va.).

Last Serve: The Cardinals had two great performances at the First Point Collegiate Challenge last week, taking the opening set against no. 1 UCLA and falling to the Bruins in a closely contested four-set battle (25-22, 24-26, 24-26, 20-25). Patrick Rogers led the Cardinals with 18 kills on a season-high .593 clip, adding two aces, six digs and four blocks. Ryan Louis chipped in 11 kills, and Lucas Machado directed the offense with 40 assists. Ball State capitalized on UCLA service errors to win set one and stayed locked in a back-and-forth contest through the next two frames, which featured 30 total ties, but key late points swung both sets in UCLA's favor.

Ball State ended their trip to Phoenix with a 3-1 (25-17-25-18, 23-25, 25-23) win against then no. 11 Stanford. Patrick Rogers led once again with a match-high 17 kills on .577 hitting and three aces, while Ryan Louis added 12 kills and three aces. Wil Basilio chipped in 10 kills, and Lucas Machado dished out 42 assists with a perfect five-for-five completion on attacks as Ball State dominated the first two sets behind a .489 hitting percentage, eight total service aces and strong blocking led by Jacob Surette who had five total in set two alone.

Match History – Maryville: These teams have met twice since 2022 inside Worthen Arena, with Ball State completing two sweeps. In 2025, The Cardinals held the Saints to a .282 hitting percentage, including a .032 clip in set one, while hitting .513 after three. Lucas Machado completed a season-high 11 digs that night along with a match-high 37 assists. Will Patterson led both teams with seven total blocks, and Patrick Rogers had nine kills with three blocks and six digs.

Scouting Maryville: The Saints are members of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). Since its first year of competition in 2022, Maryville competed as an independent, going 51-37 through three seasons. The team joined the GLVC after the league announced it would begin sponsoring men's volleyball, with 2026 being the inaugural season. The Saints were picked to finish second in the GLVC Preseason Poll after closing 2025 as runner-up to Lincoln Memorial in the Independent Volleyball Association (IVA) Tournament.

Outside hitter Makai Scott and libero Aiden Whitemountain serve as the primary attackers of the Saints, with Scott tallying 28 kills on a .049 clip and Whitemountain recording 23 kills while hitting .263 through three matches played. The team as a whole is hitting a percentage of .156.

The defensive effort is anchored by senior libero Zac Clark, who has a team-high 23 digs, followed by Aiden Whitemountain with 20 and Makai Scott with 18. Maryville has seven total blocks on the season, led by Tristan Benbow with four as well as RJ Robateau and Makai Nzioki who have three.

The Saints see its fourth-straight match against a ranked opponent, falling to then no.11 CSUN (Jan. 8) and no.17 UC Santa Barbra (Jan. 9) in four sets along with then no. 6 UC Irvine in three (Jan. 10).

Match History – Charleston (W.Va.): These two teams will meet for the first time in program history.

Scouting Charleston (W.Va.): Charleston earned a spot on the AVCA Top 20 Poll this week after claiming a 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-20, 25-18) victory over Daemen University (N.Y.), entering at no. 20. The Golden Eagles opened the 2026 season with a victory over Lees-McRae College in straight sets (Jan. 11). The team's only defeat so far came in the form of a competitive four-set loss at the hands of no. 15 McKendree (Jan. 16).

As a unit, The Golden Eagles average a .242 hitting percentage, led by senior outside hitter Lucas Torres who is posting 3.50 kills per set (35 total) on a .286 clip with five service aces. Opposite Xander Bomert and Outside hitter Kai Cousins also aids the offense with 21 and 20 total kills this season on .447 and .308 clips, respectively.

Charleston's defense is led by setter Yotam Bringer with 2.36 digs per set (26 total) and eight total blocks, including two solo. Libero Mikolaj Daszkiewicz follows with 2.09 digs per set (23 total).

In the NCAA, the team ranks ninth in aces per set (1.91), 16th in assists per set (2.364), 15th in digs per set (9.09), and 16th in opponent hitting percentage (.200).

Ball State head coach Mike Iandolo will see competition against the team which he served a three-year head coaching stint from 2018-20. In his first year, Iandolo led the Golden Eagles to the most single-season wins it had seen up to that point (16) and greatest win percentage (16-10) prior to a 22-7 finish in 2023.

AVCA Top 20 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 defeating then no. 11 Stanford in Phoenix, Ariz., the Cardinals moved up to no. 12 on the poll.

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.

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.).