As 2025 kicks off, so does Ball State men’s volleyball, as they embark on a brand new season. Led by fourth-year head coach Donan Cruz, the Cardinals open the season later today in a home match against Wabash. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
Ball State holds high expectations this season, as they are picked to win the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA), as they did last season. The team is also nationally noticed as they are the preseason No. 5 team in the AVCA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Preseason Poll.
“It doesn’t mean anything until you go out and prove yourself and prove that you should be that high, and you have to win,” junior Patrick Rogers said. “I think we have a great connection between the team on the court, so there is a good chance we will do well this season.”
The Cardinals look to improve after the end of last season where they lost in the MIVA Tournament semifinals to Lindenwood.
One of Ball State’s preseason All-MIVA players is star transfer Raje Alleyne from Quincy University. Alleyne is familiar with the conference, as he led the MIVA in points scored last season, while hitting .311 and starting in all 24 matches played.
This is Alleyne’s senior season, and in the preseason, he’s noticed differences from his previous school.
“I would say a big difference is the level of competition in the gym everyday,” he said. “The ability that the coaches and players have to hold everyone accountable is quite a big difference for me.”
Cruz talked about the importance of having someone like Alleyne come into an already experienced roster.
“He definitely brings a veteran presence to the court,” Cruz said. “So I am looking forward to seeing him in a Cardinals uniform with the group this year.”
Tinaishe Ndavazocheva, who led the Cardinals last season in kills and points scored, is returning for his senior season. Ndavazocheva also was given a spot on the preseason All-MIVA team. Ndavazocheva spoke on how he looks to replicate a season like last year.
“Honestly, I started the season slacking,” he said. “I picked it up because of how I turned the season around, so this year I want to start how I finished last year.
The Cardinals have their eyes set on the prize and want to prove the national rankings right. Cruz spoke on the team’s goals this season, and how they want to achieve them.
“We have set some team goals that we have been pretty open about sharing,” he said. “The first step is to win the regular season, as long as we are the highest seed we will continue to host in the tournament. From there, we have to reshift and focus on winning the tournament.”
The team has a few road trips this season compared to last season where the farthest they traveled was Austin, Texas. After the short series against Wabash concludes, the Cardinals head to California, where they will take on Stanford in an early-season west-coast road trip.
“Traveling to Stanford is really exciting for us,” Ndavazocheva said. “Stanford is a good team so we can’t wait to go there and show them what we’ve got.
Not only do the Cardinals travel to California, but they have a mid-season tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii. The team is playing in the Outrigger tournament, hosted by the University of Hawaii. In this tournament, the team will play No. 4 Hawaii, No. 7 USC and No. 8 Penn State.
As the season kicks off tonight, Rogers has one thing in mind that he is looking forward to.
“I’m looking forward to winning. It’s the biggest thing,” he said. “Last year we came up short in the semifinals which was unfortunate, but this year with Raje coming in and a couple other freshmen, we have a really good team.”
Contact Kyle Stout via email at kyle.stout@bsu.edu or via X @kylestoutdailyn.
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