MVB Heads to Illinois for No. 8 Loyola and No. 14 Lewis

Thursday, March 5

Chicago, IL

8 pm

Ball State University

Loyola

Photo by: Heather Parker

MVB Heads to Illinois for No. 8 Loyola and No. 14 Lewis

March 04, 2026 | Men's Volleyball

No. 9 Ball State Men's Volleyball (15-2; 6-1 MIVA) vs No. 8 Loyola Chicago (10-4; 4-1 MIVA) /No. 14 Lewis (11-6; 4-3 MIVA)
Match 18 vs. No. 8 Loyola Chicago	Thursday, March 5 at 8 p.m. ET Live Stats \| ESPN+
Match 19 vs. No. 14 Lewis	Saturday, March 7 at 6 p.m. ET Live Stats \| YouTube
Game Notes	Ball State \| Loyola \| Lewis
Social Media	X \| Instagram \| Facebook
Next Up - A Ball State Sports Link Documentary Series	Episode 1

This Week in Ball State Men's Volleyball: The Ball State men's volleyball program travels to Illinois this week for a pair of ranked conference matchups. The Cardinals begin its road trip at Gentile Arena to battle No. 8 Loyola Chicago (March 5) at 7 p.m., followed by a visit to No. 14 Lewis (March 7) at 5 p.m.

Last Serve: Ball State finished another week of action inside Worthen Arena last week with back-to-back wins over Tusculum (Feb. 26) and then No. 20 Purdue Fort Wayne (Feb. 27).

In a four set win over the Pioneers, (20-25, 28-26, 25-17, 27-25), Ryan Louis led the Cardinals' offense with 19 kills on .621 hitting alongside Jason Harris who followed with a career-best 15 kills. Senior Griffin Satterfield recorded a season-high 44 assists to pace Ball State to a .321 attack percentage, while Daniel Gunther and Adir Ben Shloosh led the defensive front as Gunther tallied five blocks and Ben Shloosh contributed seven digs.

The next night in a straight set win versus the Mastodons (25-18, 25-21, 25-12), Patrick Rogers had a match-high 16 kills on a .483 clip as Lucas Machado guided the floor with 32 assists, aiding the Cardinals to its sixth match hitting .400 or better. Machado also led at the net with five blocks. Libero Victor Scherer contributed greatly to Ball State's defense with nine digs.

15-2 in the Iandolo Era: After taking the reigns of the program this past summer, head coach Mike Iandolo has marched the Cardinals to a 15-2 record to begin his first year in the position. Ball State last met this mark in Iandolo's first year as an assistant coach in 2022, which led to a conference regular season and tournament championship, as well a No.2 national ranking and national semifinal appearance.

Unbeaten at Worthen: The Cardinals have begun the 2026 campaign with an unblemished 11-0 start inside its home Worthen Arena. Ball State last achieved this type of success at home at the start of its 2004 season, reaching 11-0 before eventually falling to Lewis in three sets. The team finished that year with a 16-1 record at home. Including last year's 3-1 Senior Day win over McKendree (March 29), Ball State holds a 12-0 streak on its home court.

Top of the MIVA: Ball State has jumped to a 6-1 start to conference play, positioning itself at the top of the MIVA rankings in 2026. The program reached a similar mark in the 2024 season, starting 9-1 until dropping three sets to Ohio state (March 21). The Cardinals finished that year 13-3 in the league to secure its third-consecutive, and 25th total, regular season championship.

A Homecoming for Iandolo: Saturday's match against the Flyers will be a return to Niel Carey Arena for head coach Mike Iandolo, who was a standout setter at Lewis, being named a two-time All-MIVA first-teamer (2009 & 2010) and a three-time Academic All-MIVA selection. Iandolo was also a three-time recipient of Lewis' Delahanty Award which honors exemplary student-athletes.

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 - Loyola Chicago: In the all-time series between these two teams, which dates back to 1996, the Ramblers hold a 41-26 advantage. In matches held in Chicago, Loyola leads 29-5. Ball State last took a win at Gentile Arena in 2024, winning in five sets (25-16, 25-23, 22-25, 18-25, 15-11).

Scouting Loyola Chicago: The Ramblers sit at third in the MIVA, holding a 4-1 conference record with its only blemish coming at the hands of Lindenwood in four sets (Feb. 4). Against ranked opponents, Loyola has a 5-4 record with its most notable win being against No. 2 Hawai'i (Jan. 2).

Statistically, the team ranks second in the league in hitting percentage (.328), assists (12.17/set) kills (13.00/set) and blocks (2.42/set). Its kill, assist and hitting percent averages translate into top 10 placements nationally.

Junior opposite Aleksandar Sosa leads the Rambler's attacking, averaging a MIVA-best 4.23 kills per set on a .318 clip. His kill average also ranks fourth in the nation. Setter Alex Smits Van Oyen ranks at the top of the conference and second in the nation in assists (11.14).

Defensively, JJ Sowa sits at second in the MIVA in digs (2.27/set) while Aidan Klein ranks fourth in blocks (1.00/set)

Senior setter Ryan McElligott was awarded the league's offensive player of the week award on March 3 after guiding the Ramblers to a .386 hitting average against NKU and Ohio State, including a 11.17 assists per set average against the Buckeyes.

Match history - Lewis: Going back to 1994, Ball State holds a narrow lead in the all-time series over the Flyers, leading 39-38 which includes a 6-4 advantage in the last 10 contests. In Romeoville, Lewis has won 22 matches to Ball State's 13. The Cardinals were last victorious at Neil Carey Arena in 2024, topping the Flyers in five sets.

Scouting Lewis: The Flyers sit fourth in the league at 4-3, winning its past four conference matchups against Queens (Feb. 20 and 22), Ohio State (Feb. 26) and Northern Kentucky (Feb. 27). Against ranked opponents, Lewis is 2-6 with wins over #9 Stanford (Jan. 10) and in its most recent matchup against then #13 Ohio State. Prior to Saturday, the Flyers host No. #19 Purdue Fort Wayne.

Overall, Lewis leads the MIVA in blocks (2.59/set) and opponent hitting percentage (.214). The Flyers also rank seventh in assists (10.90/set) and kills (11.78/set) as well as sixth in hitting (.280). It's blocking average ranks seventh nationally.

Senior outside hitter Daniel Haber leads the team's offense with 2.82 kills per set on .251 hitting. Haber also ranks fourth in the MIVA in service aces with 0.54 per set.

Libero Nico Paula leads the league and in digs, averaging 2.46 per set. Middle blocker Shawn Baggs Jr. is second in the conference in blocks with 1.19 per set. Both player's averages rank ninth nationally.

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 week nine, the Cardinals sit at No. 9 with 288 votes. The only other MIVA team ranked higher is No. 8 Loyola Chicago.