MVB Hosts Missouri S&T and NJIT This Weekend

Friday, January 9

Muncie, IN

6 pm

Ball State University

Missouri S&T

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Photo by: Brayden Goins / Ball State Athletics

January 08, 2026 | Men's Volleyball

2026 Ticket Information

No. 16 Ball State Men's Volleyball (1-0; 0-0 MIVA) vs Missouri S&T (0-0, 0-0 GLVC) / New Jersey Institute of Technology (0-2, 0-0 EIVA)
Match 2 vs. Missouri S&T	Friday, Jan. 9 at 6 p.m. ET Live Stats \| Tickets
Match 3 vs. NJIT	Saturday, Jan. 10 at 5 p.m. ET Live Stats \| ESPN+ \| Tickets
Game Notes	Ball State \| Missouri S&T \| NJIT
Social Media	X \| Instagram \| Facebook

Ball State (1-0, 0-0 MIVA) vs. Missouri S&T (0-0, 0-0 GLVC)
Series History: Tied 0-0

Ball State (1-0, 0-0 MIVA) vs. NJIT (0-2, 0-0 EIVA)
Last Meeting: Ball State 3, NJIT 1 (3/11/2022)
Series History: Ball State leads the series 6-1

This Week in Ball State Men's Volleyball: Following a win over Trine in the 2026 season opener, Ball State remains at home this weekend for back-to-back contests in Worthen Arena. The Cardinals host Missouri S&T Friday (Jan. 9) at 6 p.m. ET, followed by New Jersey Institute of Technology (Jan. 10) at 5 p.m. ET.

Last Serve: The Cardinals opened the Iandolo era with a sweep of Division III Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League member Trine (25-14, 25-13, 25-20) on Jan. 3, led by opposite Ryan Louis' 12 kills, five digs and five total blocks. Outside hitter Wil Basilio added eight kills and six digs, while Will Patterson contributed seven kills and three blocks. Ball State hit .507 as a team while holding Trine to .103. Junior setter Lucas Machado recorded a team-high 29 assists and three service aces. The victory marked head coach Mike Iandolo's first win at the helm of the program.

Match History – Missouri S&T: These teams will meet for the first time in program history.

Scouting Missouri S&T: The Miners enter its first season as a member of the Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) after spending its first three seasons as an independent, going 33-35. In 2025, Missouri S&T finished 11-14 and picked up a 3-2 win over Tusculum in the Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Championship quarterfinal before being downed 3-2 in the semifinal by Maryville. The team ranked 13th in the nation in digs per set (9.75), led by junior libero Bartosz Chimielewski who ranked 12th individually (2.33).

Match History – NJIT: The Cardinals last saw the Highlanders toward the end of the 2022 season (March 11), earning a tightly contested four-set win (26-24, 25-22, 28-30, 36-34) in Newark, N.J. NJIT has only seen one victory over Ball State since the two programs first met in 2013, taking a 3-0 win at the NJIT Wellness and Events Center in 2020 (Jan. 25). When hosted in Muncie, Ball State is 3-0 in matches against the Highlanders.

Scouting NJIT: In the initial AVCA National Collegiate MVB Preseason Poll (Dec. 23), NJIT received 15 votes but missed the top 20. The Highlanders suffered two sweeps at the hands of #2 Hawai'i to begin its 2026 campaign. Between the two matches, the Highlanders averaged 10.7 kills per set with a .141 hitting clip. On defense, NJIT averaged 3.7 digs and 2.0 blocks per set. Freshman Andre Aleixo led the way against the Rainbow Warriors, totaling 19 kills, 10 digs and three blocks in the two matches played.
Before making the trip to Muncie Jan. 10, NJIT will visit MIVA foe Ohio State Jan. 9 at the Covelli Center.

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 enters the 2026 season ranked #16 in the AVCA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Preseason Poll with a total of 144 points. The Cardinals match up against seven other ranked opponents this season, including #1 UCLA, #7 Loyola Chicago, #9 Stanford, #12 Lewis, #14 Ohio State, #15 McKendree, and #19 George Mason.

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.).