MVB Hosts Loyola Chicago for MIVA Tournament Final Saturday

Saturday, April 25

Muncie, Ind.

6 p.m.

Ball State University

Loyola University Chicago

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Josh Brunette

MVB Hosts Loyola Chicago for MIVA Tournament Final Saturday

April 23, 2026 | Men's Volleyball

No. 1 Ball State Men's Volleyball (24-4; 13-3 MIVA) vs No. 2 Loyola Chicago (20-7; 12-4 MIVA)
MIVA Tournament Championship vs. Loyola Chicago	Saturday, April 25 at 6 p.m. ET Live Stats \| ESPN+ \| Tickets
Game Notes	Loyola Chicago
Social Media	X \| Instagram \| Facebook
Next Point - A Ball State Sports Link Documentary Series	Episode 1 \| Episode 2 \| Episode 3

This Week in Ball State Men's Volleyball: The Ball State men's volleyball team looks to close the 2026 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament Saturday evening as it hosts No. 2 Loyola Chicago inside Worthen Arena for the championship final. First serve on April 25 is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET. The Cardinals play in and host the MIVA Tournament Final for the first time since 2023.

The victor of Saturday's matchup cliches one of seven automatic bids to the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Ball State last made an appearance in 2022, earning a No. 2 seed, its highest in program history, before falling to Hawaii in the semifinal. In total, the Cardinals has made the NCAA Tournament 16 times in program history. BSU's 2022 appearance was its first since 2002.

Last Serve: Ball State advanced to the MIVA Tournament Final after overcoming McKendree in straight sets (25-23, 25-28, 25-21), which was powered by a dominant .481 hitting performance and a 46-34 kills advantage. Senior Patrick Rogers led all players with 16 kills, while sophomore Ryan Louis struck down 11. Rogers also led the defensive effort at the net with three total blocks while Louis led the match in digs with eight. Junior setter Lucas Machado guided the unit to its effecient hitting night, dishing 37 assists.

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 after it swept in-state rival Purdue Fort Wayne.

Ball State and Loyola Chicago have only met in the MIVA title match during the 2002 campaign, with the Cardinals claiming victory in three sets. Ball State has gone to the title match on 27 occasions since its inaugural season in 1964, going 15-12.

Match History - Loyola Chicago: These two teams split their regular season series in 2026, as both teams achieved straight set wins at their home venues. The Cardinals clinched this year's MIVA Regular Season Championship with an avenge win over the Ramblers on April 11.

In the all-time series, which dates back to 1996, Loyola leads 42-27. Since February of 2022, the Ramblers hold a narrow advantage in the last 10 matchups, seeing a 6-4 mark. Inside Worthen Arena, Ball State leads 12-11 in the series' history.

Scouting Loyola Chicago: The Ramblers made it to this year's championship match after capturing wins over Purdue Fort Wayne (April 18) and Lewis (April 22).

In the MIVA, Loyola ranks second in points per set (16.72), hitting (.329), assists per set (12.04) and kills per set (12.80). The squad also sits third in blocks per set (2.28) and fifth in aces (1.63).

The Ramblers placed five players on this year's All-MIVA squads, with Josh Schellinger, Daniel Fabikovic and Aidan Klein earning first team honors while Ryan McElligott and Oskar Berg Mikkelsen were named to the second team.

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 lead the conference during the regular season in kills (3.90) and points (4.56) per set, while also sitting 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).

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 included 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 lead the league during the regular season 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.

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.

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).

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 led Ball State this season. The sophomore had 15 matches with double-digit kills, including a career-high 25 versus Missouri S&T (Jan. 9).

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 903 assists so far in 2026, raising his career total to 2,426 and placing him eighth in the program's record book for career assists. He needs 180 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 .384 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.