MVB Opens Conference Action With Two Versus Queens

Thursday, February 5

Muncie, IN

7 pm

Ball State University

Queens

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February 04, 2026 | Men's Volleyball

2026 Ticket Information

No. 9 Ball State Men's Volleyball (8-1; 0-0 MIVA) vs Queens (5-2, 0-0 MIVA)
Match 10 vs. Queens	Thursday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. ET Live Stats \| ESPN+ \| Tickets
Match 11 vs. Queens	Friday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. ET Live Stats \| ESPN+ \| Tickets
Game Notes	Ball State \| Queens
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This Week in Ball State Men's Volleyball: The Ball State men's volleyball program opens its conference slate with back-to-back matches versus Queens. The Cardinals host the Royals Feb. 5 and Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. ET. Ball State serves as the first ranked opponent the Royals have competed against so far this seaon.

Last Serve: Ball State extended its winning streak to five with two straight sweeps over Maryland Eastern Shore (25-16, 25-19, 25-15) and George Mason (31-29, 25-20, 25-18) in Fairfax, Va. The Cardinals handed the Hawks its first loss of its inaugural season, dominating defensively with eight blocks and 24 digs as a team and limiting UMES to a .230 clip. Braydon Savitski-Lynde paced the defensive effort at the net with a season-best six blocks while also putting up six kills. Ryan Louis led the offense with 10 kills on .467 hitting.

Against the Patriots, Louis continued his offensive momentum with a match-high 13 kills, while Patrick Rogers was credited with nine on .333 hitting. Savitski-Lynde totaled eight kills on perfect hitting while recording four blocks. Will Patterson led the match with a season-best five blocks.

Machado Defensive Player of the Week: Preseason All-MIVA member Lucas Machado was named the MIVA Defensive Player of the Week after this past weekend, earning the first weekly award of his collegiate career. Machado totaled nine digs and six blocks against the Hawks and Patriots, tying a team-best five digs with three blocks against UMES and recording four digs with another three blocks against GMU.

Sweepin' the Competition: Along with its five-match winning streak, the Cardinals won a total of 12 straight sets since Jan. 22 versus Maryville to complete four consecutive sweeps. The longest stretch of sweeps in program history happened in the 2006 season which saw for seven straight from Jan. 20-Feb. 11.

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. Since 2000, the longest home winning streak in program history is 23, spanning from March 3, 2001-Jan. 31, 2003.

8-1 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 8-1 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 also led that year's squad to an 8-1 mark before falling to Penn State in straight sets.

Match History – Queens: These two teams will meet for the eighth and ninth time in series history, with the Cardinals claiming a 7-0 mark over the Royals, including a 5-0 advantage in matches held in Muncie. The Cardinals traveled to Charlotte, N.C. for two consecutive matches against Queens in 2025 (March 20 and March 22), winning in five and four sets, respectively. In total, Ball state has claimed 21 set wins to Queens' three, which it won last season.

Scouting Queens: The Royals sit at third in the MIVA with a 5-2 record heading into Thursday. Last week, the team traveled to Charleston (W.Va.) for back-to-back matches, splitting the series with the Golden Eagles. The Royals took the first contest in on Jan. 29 in four sets (25-15, 25-22, 21-25, 25-23), but fell to Charleston the next morning in three (22-25, 23-25, 22-25).

In the MIVA, Queens currently ranks eighth in points (15.77/set), assists (10.25/set), kills (11.92/set) and opponent blocks (2.29/set). The Royals also rank seventh in blocks (1.81/set) and digs (7.79)

Individually, the Royals' offense is led by outside hitter Kaden Saurer who ranks second in the MIVA in service aces (0.65/set), 15th in points (3.47/set), 17th in kills (2.65/set) and 22nd in hitting (.245), as well as outside hitter Casey Maas who ranks 11th in kills (3.05/set), 14th in points (3.50/set) and 23rd in hitting (.229).

Defensively, Queens is led by Reed Shuey who ranks 11th in the MIVA in blocks (0.89/set) and Saurer who ranks 18th in digs (1.53/set)

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 improving to 8-1 with sweeps over Maryland Eastern Shore and George Mason, The Cardinals moved up to ninth with a total of 274 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.