MVB to Conclude Road Schedule at No. 11 Lindenwood and No. 12 McKendree

Thursday, March 26

St. Charles, MO

8 pm

Ball State University

Lindenwood

Photo by: Heather Parker

MVB to Conclude Road Schedule at No. 11 Lindenwood and No. 12 McKendree

March 24, 2026 | Men's Volleyball

No. 7 Ball State Men's Volleyball (18-3; 9-2 MIVA) vs No. 11 Lindenwood (17-3; 8-2 MIVA) / No. 12 McKendree (14-7; 6-4 MIVA)
Match 22 vs. No. 11 Lindenwood	Thursday, March 26 at 8 p.m. ET Live Stats \| ESPN+
Match 23 vs. No. 12 McKendree	Saturday, March 28 at 5 p.m. ET Live Stats \| GLVC SN
Game Notes	Ball State \| Lindenwood \| Bearcats
Social Media	X \| Instagram \| Facebook
Next Up - A Ball State Sports Link Documentary Series	Episode 1 \| Episode 2

This Week in Ball State Men's Volleyball: The Ball State men's volleyball program continues its road schedule with a pair of out of state stops this week. The Cardinals begin at Lindenwood to battle for the top spot of the MVIA on March 26 at 8 p.m. The men then travel to McKendree on March 28 with first serve at 5 p.m.

Last Serve: Ball State swept Purdue Fort Wayne (25-21, 25-17, 25-23) Saturday (March 21) to reclaim possession of first place in the conference standings while taking the season series over the Mastodons. The Cardinals hit .348 and held PFW to .185, committing just nine errors compared to the PFW's 20. Patrick Rogers led the way on offense with 11 kills on .400 hitting, adding three aces and blocks, while Will Patterson charged the defense with a season-high seven blocks.

18-3 in the Iandolo Era: After taking the reigns of the program this past summer, head coach Mike Iandolo has marched the Cardinals to a 18-3 record to begin his first year in the position -- the team's best winning percentage since Iandolo's first year as an assistant coach in 2022, ending 23-4. The dominant campaign led to a conference regular season and tournament championship, as well a No. 2 national ranking and national semifinal appearance.

Unbeaten at Worthen: At 12-straight wins inside Worthen Arena in 2026, Ball State is three wins away from completing the regular season with an unblemished record at home for the first time since the 2002 team went 13-0. That year's team ended the season 16-0 inside Worthen, taking three wins to claim what was the program's 14th MIVA tournament title. The 2002 season was in the middle of a 26-match home streak that stretched from March 16, 2001 to Jan. 31, 2003. Including last year's 3-1 Senior Day win over McKendree (March 29), Ball State currently holds a 13-match streak on its home court which sits as the 10th-longest in program history.

Machado Climbs the Record Book: Junior setter Lucas Machado has tallied 669 assists so far in 2026, raising his career total to 2,192 and placing him ninth in the program's record book for career assists. As the primary general of the floor Machado has guided Ball State to a .376 hitting percentage, and if maintained, it would serve as the best team clip in program history. The current all-time percentage is .373, averaged in 1997.

Rogers AVCA POTY Watchlist: Senior outside hitter Patrick Rogers has been named as one of 15 members honored in the first ever watchlist for the American Volleyball Coaches Association Player of the Year award. The inaugural watch list was compiled by the AVCA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Awards committee. Semifinalists for the award are to be announced in early April, and the final four will be named prior to the 2026 National Collegiate Championship May 9-11. The 2026 AVCA Player of the Year is to be revealed during the championship banquet.

Match History - Lindenwood: In the all-time series between these two teams, which dates back to 2001, the Cardinals hold a 26-5 advantage, including nine wins in the teams' last 10 meetings. When these two conference rivals met earlier this season (Feb. 13), Ball State bested the Lions in four sets (21-25, 25-16, 25-14, 25-14) inside Worthen Arena.

Scouting Lindenwood: Thursday's contest will have a heavy influence on the top of the regular season standings as the final stretch approaches, with the Lions trailing right behind the Cardinals at 8-2. Ball State has the chance to hand the Lions its first loss at home, with Lindenwood currently sitting at 9-0 inside Hyland Arena. Most recently, Lindenwood picked up back-to-back victories over Queens on March 19 and 21.

Lincoln Giest was awarded the MIVA Defensive Player of the Week honor Tuesday morning after averaging 2.25 digs/set last week against the Royals. Geist tallied nine digs in each match as he helped hold Queens to a .057 hitting percentage.

As a unit, Lindenwood ranks fourth in the MIVA in hitting percentage (.322), assists (11.86/set) and kills (12.51/set). The Lions are also sixth in digs (7.79/set) and ninth in blocks (1.59/set) while leading the conference in service aces (2.24/set).

Offensive standouts include Luke Craft and Brendan Louthain, with Craft ranking seventh in the conference in kills (3.07/set) and Louthain following in eighth (3.05/set). Louthain also contributes heavily to the ace effort, averaging 0.46/set to place himself second in the MIVA. Zach Solomon leads the conference with 0.67/set and leads the MIVA in assists (10.68). His assist average translates to third in the NCAA rankings, while his ace average paces the nation.

Match history - McKendree: Going back to 2014, Ball State holds the lead in the all-time series, leading 18-8 which includes a 8-2 advantage in the last 10 contests. In Lebanon, Illi., the series is tied 6-6. The Cardinals were last victorious over Mckendree at home on Feb. 12, taking down the Bearcats in four sets (25-19, 25-20, 26-28, 25-16).

Scouting McKendree: The Bearcats sit fourth in the league at 6-4, holding an eight-match win streak that includes wins over then No. 8 Lindenwood (March 13) and then No. 15 Ohio State (March 7). Last week, McKendree saw a pair of wins over Harvard (March 17 and 18), taking both matches in straight sets. The team's streak also includes two wins over Queens (Feb. 27 and 28) as well as wins over Northern Kentucky (March 5) and Belmont Abbey (March 10). Within those eight wins, the Bearcats have dropped a total of just five sets. Prior to Saturday, McKendree meets No. 20 Purdue Fort Wayne at home on March 26.

In the MIVA, the Bearcats are fifth in hitting percentage (.287), assists (11.75/set), kills (12.44/set), blocks (2.19/set) and aces (1.57/set). The team leads the league in digs (9.95/set), which translates to eighth in the nation.

Sam Hoskins and Bryce Wetjen lead McKendree's attacking, with Hoskins averaging 3.63 kills/set on .383 hitting and Wetjen averaging 3.22 kills on a .234 clip. Hoskins' average ranking fourth in the MIVA, while Wetjen's puts him sixth. Nathan Flayter ranks third in the league in assists, averaging 10.19/set.

Defensively, Rolen Lively leads the team in blocks (0.97/set), ranking fourth in the conference. Flayter leads in digs (2.25/set), ranking second in the MIVA.

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. Heading into this week's action, the Cardinals are the highest ranked MIVA team, sitting at No. 7 with 319 votes.