It was a busy weekend for the Ball State men’s volleyball team when they traveled to the West Coast to take on a top fifteen Stanford squad. On the weekend, the teams played twice, where each game mirrored the last one.
Ball State won the first game 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-16), and Stanford took the second contest 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 30-28). Both games were back-and-forth and chippy, with two of the sets having to extend past 25 points to find a winner.
MATCH ONE
In the Cardinals' first ranked match of the year, they proved they could play with anyone, and they came out firing early. They went back and forth with the Cardinal for the first set but ultimately prevailed 25-22.
Stanford started in control for the first set, taking a 5-1 lead in the early part of the set, but opposite hitter Rajé Alleyne proved why he was sought after in the transfer portal, and led the team with five kills in the set to win it. Alleyne knows what he came here to do and already loves playing for this university.
“I just keep working hard and lifting up my teammates,” he said. “When they do well, I want to do well too. It is a never-ending circle of prosperity with this team.”
The second set was the exact opposite of the first one, with Ball State coming out early with a lead, but Stanford putting together a run of points to make it closer. After that point, the match was tight, needing to extend past 25 points for Ball State to win it, 26-24.
After two tight sets, Ball State took full control in the third set. It was close early, with the score being 15-14 Stanford. But after that point, Ball State took 11 of the last 12 points to win it 25-16. Sophomore setter Lucas Machado was everywhere on the court, and once again proved to be an extremely talented young setter, recording 35 assists in the match.
Ball State prevailed in a close, early season, ranked matchup on the road, and coach Donan Cruz likes what he sees out of the team thus far.
“In the beginning of the year, you want to definitely push yourself and see what we are capable of,” he said. “I thought we had some really strong moments out there.”
Following the 3-0 sweep over a ranked opponent on the road, Alleyne is loving what he sees out of the team and said the locker room vibe is at a high.
“We were ecstatic, beating a ranked team, especially for me, this is my first time beating a ranked team ever. Everyone was excited for it, everybody was ready for it, and we were in high spirits.”
MATCH TWO
Stanford remembered what happened in the last match, and did the exact opposite. Ball State started off the first set battling and went back and forth in the early portion. But things took a turn in the middle of the set, and Stanford took full control, winning the first set 25-19.
After the set one deficit, Ball State came out in the second set rejuvenated, and looking to tie the match up. Service errors are what held Ball State back in the set, where they tallied six of them. That gave Stanford the edge in the second set, where they went on to win 25-23.
Although Ball State went down 2-0 in the match, they fought tooth and nail to the very end. The third set was close, with neither team getting a lead of more than three points. Ball State got the lead 28-27 needing one more point to take the game. But Stanford fought back and scored three straight to take the set, and take the match 3-0.
Looking forward to next week’s ranked matchup with Brigham Young University (BYU), Cruz knows what his team has to improve on.
“I think we just have to take care of the ball a little better, in this match we just didn’t play as cleanly, and we struggled to pass the ball,” he said. “When we were in a position to take a set, we gave up a run, so we didn’t capitalize when we had the opportunities.”
Even amidst a tough loss on the road, Alleyne is motivated for the top-ten matchup at home next week against BYU.
“I’m very excited [for BYU],” he said. “They are ranked number six so they are going to be gunning for us. We have to bring everything we’ve got, and let today fuel us for when that game comes.”
Ball State will host #6 BYU in Worthen Arena Jan. 16 and 17. Both matches are set to begin at 7 p.m.
Contact Kyle Stout via email at kyle.stout@bsu.edu or via X @kylestoutdailyn
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