MVB Wraps up Regular Season at Home Versus No. 16 Lewis and No. 9 Loyola Chicago

Thursday, April 9

Muncie, IN

7 pm

Ball State University

Lewis

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Brayden Goins / Ball State Athletics

MVB Wraps up Regular Season at Home Versus No. 16 Lewis and No. 9 Loyola Chicago

April 08, 2026 | Men's Volleyball

No. 7 Ball State Men's Volleyball (21-3; 12-2 MIVA) vs No. 16 Lewis (15-12; 7-7 MIVA) / No. 9 Loyola Chicago (17-6; 11-3 MIVA)
Match 25 vs. No. 16 Lewis	Thursday, April 9 at 7 p.m. ET Live Stats \| ESPN+ \| Tickets
Match 26 vs. No. 9 Loyola Chicago	Saturday, April 11 at 4 p.m. ET Live Stats \| ESPN+ \| Tickets
Game Notes	Ball State \| Flyers \| Ramblers
Social Media	X \| Instagram \| Facebook
Next Up - A Ball State Sports Link Documentary Series	Episode 1 \| Episode 2 \| Episode 3

This Week in Ball State Men's Volleyball: The seventh-ranked Ball State men's volleyball team closes its regular season at home this week with a pair of conference rematches. The Cardinals look to sweep the season series over No. 16 Lewis on April 9 at 7 p.m. before attempting to avenge its loss to No. 9 Loyola Chicago on April 11 at 4 p.m. Both matches will be available on ESPN+.

The theme of Thursday evening's match is Beach Day, while Saturday's contest will serve as a Senior Day celebration. Seniors Eyal Rawitz, Patrick Rogers, Griffin Satterfield and Victor Scherer will be honored and recognized for their dedication to the program during the senior ceremony after the contest versus the Ramblers.

Last Serve: The Cardinals completed a hard-fought sweep (25-21, 25-20, 25-17) over Northern Kentucky last week (April 2), extending its home winning streak to 13 and overall streak to six matches. The Cardinals hit .375 and held the Norse to .208 behind 27 assists from Lucas Machado, who also added a team-best hree blocks with four digs. Patrick Rogers led the offense with a 14-kill, 10-dig double-double on a .423 clip while Wil Basilio and Ryan Louis added seven and six kills, respectively.

21-3 in the Iandolo Era: After taking the reigns of the program this past summer, head coach Mike Iandolo has marched the Cardinals to a 21-3 record to begin his first year in the position -- one win more than the team's record of 20-3 at the end of the regular season during 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. At .875, the 2026 season is the fourth-best winning percentage in program history, the best since .864 in 1975 and 1971.

Unbeaten at Worthen: At 13-straight wins inside Worthen Arena in 2026, Ball State is three wins away from completing the regular season with an unblemished reord at home for the first time since the 2002 team went 13-0. That year's squad ended the season 16-0 inside Worthen, taking three wins to claim what was the program's 14th MIVA tournament championship. 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 14-match streak on its home court which sits as the 10th-longest in program history.

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 760 assists so far in 2026, raising his career total to 2,283 and placing him ninth in the program's record book for career assists. He needs 30 more to move up to No. 8, which is taken by Jeff Robertson (1997-2000) who had 2,313. As the primary general of the floor Machado has guided Ball State to a .377 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.

Match History - Lewis: Going back to 1994, Ball State holds a narrow lead in the all-time series over the Flyers, leading 40-38 which includes a 6-4 advantage in the last 10 contests. In Muncie, Lewis has won 13 matches to Ball State's 24. The Flyers took Ball State to five sets for the only time this season in Romeoville (March 5), with the Cardinals coming out with the win (25-20, 27-29, 23-25, 25-20, 15-10).

Scouting Lewis: The Flyers are sixth in the MIVA with an even 7-7 conference record. Most recently, Lewis split its week, picking up a three-set win versus then No. 11 Lindenwood on April 2 but falling short to then No. 12 McKendree on April 4.

Senior Libero was named the MIVA Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after leading the league with 3.71 digs per set, including a 22-dig performance in the loss versus the Bearcats.

Match History - Loyola: In the all-time series between these two teams, which dates back to 1996, the Ramblers hold a 42-26 advantage. In matches held in Muncie, the series is tied 11-11. Ball State last took a win over Loyola at home in 2024, winning in four sets (23-25, 26-24, 27-25, 25-23). In the last 10 matchups, Loyola leads 7-3.

Scouting Loyola: The Ramblers stand as a threat to the Cardinals' hold on the top of the MIVA standings, sitting one match behind in second place at 11-2. With the potential to tie, and with the Ramblers leading the season series 1-0, the Cardinals would need to win Saturday's match in a sweep by a combined 11 points or more. Prior to Saturday, Loyola matches up against Purdue Fort Wayne on April 9, a team they've fallen to in four sets earlier this season (March 7).

Junior setter Ryan McElliot was named the MIVA Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after he led the Ramblers to victories over Mckendree and Lindenwood last week, tallying 9.67 assists per set while adding 1.00 kills per set and 0.83 aces per set.

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 341 points.