MVB to Meet UMES and George Mason This Weekend

No. 10 Ball State Men's Volleyball (6-1; 0-0 MIVA) vs UMES (4-0, 0-0 NEC) / George Mason (1-3, 0-0 EIVA)
Match 8 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore	Friday, Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. ET Live Stats
Match 9 at George Mason	Saturday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. ET Live Stats \| ESPN+
Game Notes	Ball State \| UMES \| George Mason
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This Week in Ball State Men's Volleyball: The Ball State men's volleyball program travels to Fairfax, Va. for its second road trip of the season. The Cardinals face off against Maryland Eastern Shore Jan. 30 at 6 p.m., followed by George Mason Jan. 31 at 5 p.m.

Last Serve: Ball State maintained its undfeated home streak with straight sweeps versus Maryville (MO) (25-17, 25-18, 25-22) and Charleston (25-18, 25-22, 25-20) this past week. Versus the Saints, Patrick Rogers led all players with 14 kills on a .565 hitting percentage along with four digs, one ace and a block. Griffin Satterfield made an impact in the longest he's seen the floor this season, recording 25 assists with three kills and two digs. Ball State held Maryville to a .272 clip through three sets while the Cardinals hit .429 as a team.

The next night versus the Golden Eagles, the Cardinals combined for its second-highest hitting percentage (.432) and a season-best nine service aces to advance to 5-0 at home in 2026. Rogers led once again with 11 kills on a .562 clip while adding six digs and three aces. Lucas Machado guided the offense with 30 assists and five kills on .833 hitting.

Rogers Co-Offensive Player of the Week: MIVA Preseason Player of the Year Patrick Rogers was named Co-Offensive Player of the Week by the league on Jan. 27. He shares the honor with McKendree's Sam Hoskin. Rogers led the conference with 4.17 kills per set, totaling 25 kills and four service aces during the week, contributing 30 points to Ball State's offensive effort. Rogers has earned the weekly conference accolade a total of three times since joining the Cardinals in 2024.

Unbeaten at Worthen: The Cardinals have begun the 2026 campaign with an unblemished 5-0 start inside its home Worthen Arena. Ball State last saw five straight wins at home to start the season in 2024, reaching 7-0 before eventually falling to Hawai'i in four sets. The team finished that year with a 15-4 record at home.

6-1 start to the Iandolo Era: After taking the reigns of the program this past summer, head coach Mike Iandolo has marched the Cardinals to a 6-1 start in his first year in the position, with its sole loss so far being at the hands of No. 1 UCLA (Jan. 17). In his first year as head coach at Charleston (W. Va.) in 2018, Iandolo led his squad to an 8-1 mark before falling to Penn State in straight sets. With Ball State, Iandolo has the opportunity to match that mark again with two wins this week.

Match History – UMES: These teams will meet for the first time in program history.

Scouting UMES: Maryland Eastern Shore enters Friday's contest with a four-match win streak to open its inaugural 2026 season. Announced in the fall of 2023, UMES became the 68th school to sponsor collegiate men's volleyball. The Hawks most recently saw consecutive sweeps over Eskrine College on Jan. 22 and Jan. 23. Freshman outisde hitter Marcellus Owens averaged 1.67 blocks per set, including a seven-block performance Jan. 22 to earn the honor of NEC Defensive Player of the Week.

UMES ranks third as a team in the NCAA in blocks per set with 2.825 (56.5 total), seventh in hitting percentage (.365) and third in opponent hitting percentage (.163). The team also ranks 24th in aces (1.50 per set), 23rd in assists (11.25), 35th in digs (8.10 per set), and tied 26th in kills (12.00 per set).

Individually, opposite Andre Mills ranks seventh with 1.368 per set followed by middle Chase Valentine who ranks eighth with 1.300 per set. Mills also ranks 10th in the NCAA in points per set with 4.79.

Fifth year senior Kenyon Haynes ranks fifth in the NCAA in assists per set, averaging 10.40 (208 total)

Match History – George Mason: The Cardinals have a 45-29 advantage in the all-time series against the Patriots. These two teams last met in 2022 (Jan. 21), with Ball State winning in three sets (25-11, 25-18, 25-10).

Scouting George Mason: The Patriots come into the weekend 1-3 in 2026, seeing its first win versus Merrimack in three sets (Jan. 24). Before Saturday's match, George Mason will compete against Mount Olive (Jan. 30). Sophomore Aidan Weltin led the offense with 15 kills against the Warriors, while setter Georgi Zahariev posted a game-high 32 assists along with two digs and four blocks. As a whole, Geroge Mason recorded nine total blocks and 29 digs while hitting .292.

George Mason is currently ranked 38th in the NCAA in hitting percentage (.217), 44th in kills (10.71), 33rd in digs (8.29 per set), 49th in blocks (1.526 per set) and 46th in assists (9.93 per set).

Libero Stef Kins is tied for eighth in the NCAA in digs with 2.50 per set (25 total).

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 topping the Saints (Jan. 22) and Golden Eagles (Jan. 23), the Cardinals sit at No. 10 with 257 votes.

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, 2025, 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.) for the 2018-2020 seasons.

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Players Mentioned

Lucas Machado

Patrick Rogers

Griffin Satterfield

Ball State University Athletics