Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
McKendree University
MVB Set for MIVA Semifinal Matchup Versus McKendree Wednesday Evening
April 20, 2026 | Men's Volleyball
| No. 7 Ball State Men's Volleyball (22-4; 13-3 MIVA) vs No. 13 McKendree  (18-10; 9-7 MIVA) | |
| MIVA Tournament Semifinal vs. McKendree | Wednesday, April 22 at 7 p.m. ET Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets |
| Game Notes | McKendree |
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| Next Point - A Ball State Sports Link Documentary Series | Episode 1Â | Episode 2Â | Episode 3 |
This Week in Ball State Men's Volleyball: The Ball State men's volleyball team continues its run in the 2026 Midwestern Intercollegiate Vollaeyball Association Tournament as it hosts fourth-seeded McKendree inside Worthen Arena. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. ET and streaming will be available on ESPN+.Â
Last Serve: The Cardinals advanced to the MIVA Semifinal after knocking out Northern Kentucky in straight sets (25-18, 26-24, 25-15) during the quarterfinal on April 18. Ball State hit an impressive .552 percentage as a team, including .700 in the opening frame. MIVA Player of the Year Patrick Rogers led the way with 12 kills and three aces, supported by Wil Basilio and Ryan Louis (six kills each) and a strong defensive effort highlighted by 8.5 total blocks and led by Lucas Machado who had four along with Jacob Surette and Basilio who had three each.Â
Match History - McKendree: The Cardinals overcame the Bearcats on two occasions in 2026, first in four sets in Muncie on Feb. 12 and then in Lebanon in three sets on March 28. Ball State sees a 8-2 advantage in the teams' last 10 matchups. Inside Worthen Arena, the Cardainls have won 12 matches to McKendree's two.Â
Scouting McKendree: Going 9-7 in conference play throughout the 2026 season, the Bearcats advanced to the semifinals after completing a five-set victory against Ohio State this past weekend in their quarterfinal contest. On the road this season, the Bearcats are 4-6.Â
Looking Ahead: With a win on Wednesday, Ball State will host the MIVA Tournament Championship on Saturday, April 25th versus the winner of No. 6 Lewis and No. 2 Loyola Chicago.Â
MIVA Tournament History: In the MIVA, Ball State holds the second most championship titles with 39 total, earning 24 regular season championships and 15 tournament championships. The program's last tournament title came in 2022 as it swept in-state rival No. 6 Purdue Fort Wayne, being awarded a No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament --the highest in program history.Â
Rogers 2026 MIVA Player of the Year: As the leading attacker for the No. 1 seeded Cardinals, Patrick Rogers was recognized as the 2026 MIVA Player of the Year, announced by the league Thursday afternoon. The New Jersey native leads the conference this season in kills (3.90) and points (4.56) per set, ranks fourth in hitting percentage (.404) and ninth in aces per set (0.37). Throughout the 2026 campaign, Rogers was named the conference's offensive player of the week on three occasions (Jan. 27, March 30, April 14).Â
Iandolo 2026 MIVA Coach of the Year: With a conference regular season championship in his first year as head coach, Mike Iandolo was named the 2026 MIVA Coach of the Year. At the helm of the program, Iandolo marched the Cardinals to a 22-4 regular season record and a No. 7 national ranking, which includes 10 ranked wins and a MIVA-topping 13-3 conference mark. Ball State reached a stretch of 13 consecutive home victories in 2026, the 10th-most in the program's history. As a unit, Ball State leads the league in hitting percentage (.376), as well as assists (12.27) and kills per set (13.44). As the fifth head coach of Ball State, Iandolo became the fourth in the program's history to win a regular season championship in his first year in the position.Â
All-MIVA: The Cardinals placed four members onto All-MIVA teams this season, with Patrick Rogers and Lucas Machado being named first team while Ryan Louis and Braydon Savitski-Lynde were named second team.Â
Rogers earned his third-career first-team honor, leading the conference during the regular season in kills (3.90) and points (4.56) per set, while ranking fourth in hitting percentage (.404) and ninth in aces per set (0.37).Â
Machado directed Ball State's offense to a program-record .376 hitting percentage in the regular season, totaling a career-best 843 assists in 2026 to move into eighth all-time at Ball State (2,366), while averaging 9.94 assists per set and earning both MIVA Defensive Player of the Week (Feb. 3) and AVCA Player of the Week (Feb. 17) recognition.
Louis sees his first All-MIVA award, being named to the second team after contributing greatly to the Cardinals' offensive and defensive fronts. In the regular season, the Arizona native ranked fifth in the league in kills (3.33) and points (4.13) per set, seventh in hitting percentage (.323) and blocks (0.84), and 11th in aces per set (0.36). His 72.0 total blocks lead Ball State this season. The sophomore had 15 matches this season with double-digit kills, including a career-high 25 versus Missouri S&T (Jan. 9).Â
Savitski-Lynde was a standout defensive presence in 2026, being named to his first All-MIVA team with a second team honor. The junior is fifth in the conference in blocks per set (0.86), totaling 67.0. He had five matches this season with five or more blocks, including a season-best six versus Maryland Eastern Shore (Jan. 30).
Rogers AVCA POTY Semifinalist: Senior outside hitter Patrick Rogers was named as one of eight members to the semifinalist list for the first ever 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. The final four will be named prior to the start of the 2026 National Collegiate Championship. The 2026 AVCA Player of the Year is to be revealed at the NCAA social event in Los Angeles before the semifinals on May 8.
Machado Climbs the Record Book: Junior setter Lucas Machado has tallied 866 assists so far in 2026, raising his career total to 2,389 and placing him eighth in the program's record book for career assists. He needs 240 more to move up to No. 7, which is occupied by Quinn Isaacson (2018-2022) who had 2,606. As the primary general of the floor Machado has guided Ball State to a .381 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.
