MVB Set for NCAA Regional Final in Noblesville

Saturday, May 2

Noblesville, Ind.

6 pm

Ball State University

Pepperdine OR Fort Valley St.

Buy Tickets

Lucas Machado vs. Loyola Chicago 4/25/26

Photo by: Ball State University/Bobby Ellis

April 30, 2026 | Men's Volleyball

Ball State Men's Volleyball (25-4; 13-3 MIVA) vs Pepperdine (23-6; 13-1 MPSF) OR Fort Valley State (16-12, 8-0 SIAC)
2026 NCAA Tournament Regional Final	Saturday, May 2 at 6 p.m. ET Live Stats \| ESPN+ \| Tickets \| Parking
Game Notes	Pepperdine \| Fort Valley State
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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 makes its 17th National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Tournament appearance on Saturday, May 2, facing the winner of Friday's Regional Semifinal between Pepperdine and Fort Valley State. Friday and Saturday's matches will be steamed on ESPN+, with the semifinal beginning at 7 p.m. and the final slated for first serve at 6 p.m. Due to Ball State University's 2026 Commencement Ceremony, the regional rounds will take place at the Noblesville Boom's Riverview Health Arena at Innovation Mile.

With a No. 4 tournament ranking, the Cardinals not only earned a regional semifinal bye, but were awarded the opportunity to host its first regional-round matchup since 1992 --the fifth time in program history. Ball State also hosted in 1980, 1976 and 1972.

The victor of Saturday's matchup advances to the final four, which begins with the semifinal round on May 9, followed by the championship finale on May 11. The final two rounds of the tournament take place at UCLA's Pauley Pavillion in Los Angeles, Calif.

NCAA Tournament History: With 17 total appearances since the program's inception, the Cardinals compete in the NCAA Tounrament for the second time since 2002. BSU made it to the national semifinal in 2022, falling to Hawai'i in a five-set thriller.

Last Serve: The Cardinals got here after after sweeping Loyola Chicago (25-22, 25-20, 25-20) to capture the 2026 MIVA Tournament Championship on April 25. Ball State dominated with a .477 hitting percentage, guided by 31 assists from Lucas Machado. BSU saw an 11-0 advantage in blocks, while Patrick Rogers powered the offense with 16 kills on a .481 hitting mark, and a career-high six aces. After a tightly contested first set, the Cardinals used late runs and strong serving, highlighted by Rogers' three straight aces in set two, and an efficient .565 hitting performance in the final set to complete the sweep. Machado, Rogers, and Wil Basilio earned All-Tournament honors, with Rogers being named MIVA Tournament MVP.

Inaugural Year of the Iandolo Era: With a 2026 MIVA Regular Season and Tournament Championship, Mike Iandolo became the fourth out of five head coaches in program history to win both titles in his first year in the position. At the helm of the Cardinals, the 2026 MIVA Coach of the Year has marched Ball State to a 25-4 record, the most wins since earning 27 in 1997, and a No. 7 national ranking, which includes 12 ranked wins. 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 and nation in hitting percentage (.387), as well as kills per set (13.49).

Patrick Rogers - The Senior Sensation: As the leading attacker for the Cardinals, Patrick Rogers has complied a phenomenal senior campaign in 2026. A three-time MIVA Offensive Player of the Week in this year, the New jersey native earned the league's player of the year award as well as first team All-MIVA at the end of the regular season. Rogers continued his dominance into the postseason, being declared MIVA Tournament MVP after leading the Cardinals to three straight sweeps to take the MIVA Tournament Championship. During Ball State's trip to the First Point Collegiate Challenge earlier this season, Rogers surpassed the 1,000 kill milestone against No. 1 UCLA, striking down 17 kills in the contest (Jan. 17). With a strong case to be selected as an AVCA All-American, Rogers was named as one of eight players in the running for the 2026 AVCA National Collegiate Men's Player of the Year.

In the summer of 2025, prior to this season, Rogers was selected to the Men's U23 National Team and Beach Collegiate National Team, earning silver at the 2025 NORCECA Pan American Cup. He also won gold with the US Men's National Team at the 2025 NORCECA Final Six in Ponce, Puerto Rico where he was named tournament MVP.

2026 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.

Match History - Pepperdine: These two teams have met nine times, with Pepperdine leading the all-time series 8-1. Ball State's lone win over the Waves was a four set victory in 1997 inside Worthen Arena (March 21).

The Cardinals and the Waves met in the semifinal of the 2002 NCAA Tournament, with Pepperdine taking the contest in four sets. Pepperdine would eventually fall to national champion Hawai'i, whose wins and appearance were vacated by the NCAA Committee on infractions.

Scouting Pepperdine: The Waves finished 13-1 in conference action this year, claiming a share of the 2026 MPSF Regular Season Championship with UCLA, marking its first since 2019. Pepperdine split its season series with the Bruins, giving the 2026 NCAA Tournament host its only loss so far this year. The Waves made it to the MPSF Tournament Semifinal, falling to USC.

The Waves' Cole Hartke and Ryan Barnett were both named to the inaugural AVCA National Collegiate Men's Player of the Year Watchlist, with Hartke advancing the semifinalist list.

Hartke leads the nation in kills per set (4.29) as he averages a clip of .352. Barnett follows with 3.26 kills per set, ranking 43rd in the nation. As a unit, The Waves are sixth in the NCAA with 12.62 kills per set on the nation's third-best efficiency (.374). Pepperdine also sits third in aces per set (2.03), paced by Grant Lamoureux (0.57).

Pepperdine's defense at the net is led by James Eadie, who averages 1.02 blocks per set (101 total). Hartke follows with 80.0 total blocks this season. The wave's dig effort is led by Reilly Jacob, who has 177 on the year.

Match History - Fort Valley State: N/A

Scouting Fort Valley State: The Wildcats went undefeated (8-0) in conference play, capping off a nine-match winning streak, on its way to its third consecutive SIAC Championship, defeating Central State in the finale. While going unbeaten in the final stretch of the 2026 campaign, FVSU went 1-24 in sets played versus a program ranked in the AVCA Top 20 Poll. Its lone win came in the third frame versus then No. 11 Lindenwood on Feb. 28.

Head coach Larry Wrather earned his third SIAC Coach of the Year and the end of the regular season, while seven different players were named to all-conference teams. The Wildcats' postseason honors were headlined by Isaiah Fredd who was named the league's player of the year.

Fredd leads FVSU's offense, as the outside averaged 3.59 kills per set on a .279 hitting percentage. Jamari Griffin aids the attack with 1.78 kills per set on a .223 clip.

The Wildcats' defense is anchored by middle Tavaiin Martin who totaled 84.0 total blocks (0.89 per set). He was aided at the net by Muhammad Mbaye, who averaged 0.68 per set (58.0).

Larry Wrather is no stranger to Ball State, as the head coach was once a former Cardinal, serving as an All-MIVA outside from 2010-2014. Wrather averaged 2.09 kills per set as he totaled 482 digs and 162 total blocks in 354 sets played. Wrather is joined on the Wildcats's coaching staff by his father, Edward.