Thursday, February 6
Muncie, Ind.
7 PM
Purdue Fort Wayne
at
Ball State
Axel Melendez Watts
Photo by: Tristen Bronaugh
Men's Volleyball Begins MIVA Competition Against No. 8 Ball State and No. 14 Ohio State
2/4/2025 5:51:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The Purdue Fort Wayne men's volleyball team begins MIVA competition on Thursday (Feb. 6) at No. 8 Ball State and will host No. 14 Ohio State on Monday (Feb. 10).
Game Day Information
Who: Ball State Cardinals and Ohio State Buckeyes
When: Thursday, February 6 - 7 PM | Monday, February 10 - 7 PM
Where: Muncie, Ind. - Worthen Arena | Fort Wayne, Ind. - Gates Sports Center
Live Stats: Link (Thursday) | Link (Monday)
Watch: ESPN+ (Thursday) | ESPN+ (Monday)
Game Notes: Purdue Fort Wayne | MIVA
Know Your Foes
• Ball State finished non-conference play 7-3, all three losses coming against ranked opponents: No. 13 Stanford and No. 5 BYU twice. The Cardinals lone ranked win was a 3-0 victory over No. 13 Stanford in their first meeting. Patrick Rogers is the team's leading hitter, this season. Rogers is hitting 2.84 kills per set with a .326 percentage. Lucas Machado has played in nine of the 10 matches as the team's setter, averaging 9.86 assists per set.
• Ohio State completed its non-conference season at 3-5, with all five losses came from ranked opponents: No. 6 BYU twice, No. 11 Stanford, No. 6 USC and No. 3 UCLA. The Buckeyes' lone ranked win was over No. 1 UCLA. Shane Wetzel leads the team in hitting through non-conference, averaging 3.07 kills per set.
Series Histories
• Ball State holds a 83-33 lead in the series history. The last meeting between the two schools resulted in a 3-2 Cardinal victory on the Arnie Ball Court. Andrej Polomac had a career-high 63 assists in that match.
• Ohio State owns a 82-41 lead over the Mastodons in the schools' series history. Purdue Fort Wayne won the last meeting 3-0 on the Arnie Ball Court.
He Can Do It
JP Candrian earned his first MIVA Player of the Week award, earning Defensive Player of the Week (Jan. 28). Candrian led the Mastodons to a 2-0 week, beating both LIU (Jan. 23) and Lees-McRae (Jan. 25) on the Arnie Ball Court. The freshman averaged 2.67 digs during the stretch, collecting 16 in the five-set victory over LIU. The Florida native added 0.67 blocks per set to his weekly totals.
Last Time Out
The Mastodons returned from the Harvard Invitational 2-0 after beating Saint Francis (Pa.) (Jan. 31) and No. 19 Harvard (Feb. 1) in six straight sets. Axel Melendez Watts led Purdue Fort Wayne as the only Mastodon to record double-digit kills (11) en route to their 3-0 victory. Melendez Watts posted 15 kills on a .500 percentage and eight digs in a 3-0 win the following day against No. 19 Harvard. Logan Muir led the contest in kills with 16, one shy of tying his career-high.
Coming Up
The 'Dons host Queens on back-to-back nights on Thursday (Feb. 13) and Friday (Feb. 14).
Game Day Information
Who: Ball State Cardinals and Ohio State Buckeyes
When: Thursday, February 6 - 7 PM | Monday, February 10 - 7 PM
Where: Muncie, Ind. - Worthen Arena | Fort Wayne, Ind. - Gates Sports Center
Live Stats: Link (Thursday) | Link (Monday)
Watch: ESPN+ (Thursday) | ESPN+ (Monday)
Game Notes: Purdue Fort Wayne | MIVA
Know Your Foes
• Ball State finished non-conference play 7-3, all three losses coming against ranked opponents: No. 13 Stanford and No. 5 BYU twice. The Cardinals lone ranked win was a 3-0 victory over No. 13 Stanford in their first meeting. Patrick Rogers is the team's leading hitter, this season. Rogers is hitting 2.84 kills per set with a .326 percentage. Lucas Machado has played in nine of the 10 matches as the team's setter, averaging 9.86 assists per set.
• Ohio State completed its non-conference season at 3-5, with all five losses came from ranked opponents: No. 6 BYU twice, No. 11 Stanford, No. 6 USC and No. 3 UCLA. The Buckeyes' lone ranked win was over No. 1 UCLA. Shane Wetzel leads the team in hitting through non-conference, averaging 3.07 kills per set.
Series Histories
• Ball State holds a 83-33 lead in the series history. The last meeting between the two schools resulted in a 3-2 Cardinal victory on the Arnie Ball Court. Andrej Polomac had a career-high 63 assists in that match.
• Ohio State owns a 82-41 lead over the Mastodons in the schools' series history. Purdue Fort Wayne won the last meeting 3-0 on the Arnie Ball Court.
He Can Do It
JP Candrian earned his first MIVA Player of the Week award, earning Defensive Player of the Week (Jan. 28). Candrian led the Mastodons to a 2-0 week, beating both LIU (Jan. 23) and Lees-McRae (Jan. 25) on the Arnie Ball Court. The freshman averaged 2.67 digs during the stretch, collecting 16 in the five-set victory over LIU. The Florida native added 0.67 blocks per set to his weekly totals.
Last Time Out
The Mastodons returned from the Harvard Invitational 2-0 after beating Saint Francis (Pa.) (Jan. 31) and No. 19 Harvard (Feb. 1) in six straight sets. Axel Melendez Watts led Purdue Fort Wayne as the only Mastodon to record double-digit kills (11) en route to their 3-0 victory. Melendez Watts posted 15 kills on a .500 percentage and eight digs in a 3-0 win the following day against No. 19 Harvard. Logan Muir led the contest in kills with 16, one shy of tying his career-high.
Coming Up
The 'Dons host Queens on back-to-back nights on Thursday (Feb. 13) and Friday (Feb. 14).
~ Feel the Rumble ~
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OPP
/ Men's Volleyball
S
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