Mastodons Take on Under Armour Challenge

Friday, January 23

Fort Wayne, Ind.

7 PM

Purdue Fort Wayne

Maryville

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Owen Banner and Vince Spadoni

1/15/2026 4:15:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Live Stats

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The Purdue Fort Wayne men's volleyball program will travel to Lindenwood for the Under Armour Challenge. The Mastodons will play Menlo on Friday (Jan. 16) and No. 12 CSUN on Saturday (Jan. 17).

Game Day Information
Who: Menlo
When: Friday, January 16 | 5 PM ET
Where: St. Charles, Mo. | Robert F. Hyland Arena
Live Stats: Link
Game Notes: MIVA | Purdue Fort Wayne

Game Day Information
Who: CSUN
When: Saturday, January 17 | 5 PM ET
Where: St. Charles, Mo. | Robert F. Hyland Arena
Live Stats: Link
Game Notes: MIVA | Purdue Fort Wayne | CSUN

Know Your Foes
Menlo has opened the season 0-2, losing to No. 12 Lewis and UC Santa Cruz. The middle of the Oaks' defense is bolstered by Max Jarrett (11.0) and Garrett Hockman (10.0), both middle blockers have recorded 10 or more blocks this season. Keau Thompson (2.20) and Ty Carson (2.00) have led Menlo offensively through the two matches, both averaging over 2.00 kills per set. Graduate student Gabriel Ocasio Lopez runs the Oaks' offense at the setter position, averaging 6.00 assists per game.

CSUN has began the season on a 3-0 winning streak, topping Maryville, Harvard and Kentucky State to earn the No. 12 selection in the most recent AVCA poll. The Matadors have held opponents to a 0.142 hitting percentage through the early portion of this season, ranking 10th nationally. Redshirt juniors Santiago Mendoza (4.00) and Jordan Lucas (3.00) lead CSUN in attacking, both averaging over 3.00 kills per set. The Matador offense is run through setter Owen Douphner, who averages 8.30 assists per set. Middle blocker Joao Favarim is averaging 1.00 blocks per set through the first three contests.

Series Histories
Purdue Fort Wayne and Menlo have never played each other.

CSUN owns a 12-3 series history lead over the Mastodons. The Matadors won last year's meeting 3-0, with Jalen Phillips leading both teams with 19 kills on a .471 percentage.

'Dons This Season
Purdue Fort Wayne closed out opening weekend 1-1, dropping the first match to Missouri S&T and beating (RV) NJIT. The Mastodons currently rank top 10 nationally in assists per set (fifth - 13.10) and kills per set (sixth - 13.80). Hunter Hopkins averaged 11.60 assists per set in the first weekend, third best nationally and best in the MIVA. The trio of Owen Banner (4.75 pps, 3.90 kps), Carlo Huisden (4.50 pps, 4.40 kps) and Logan Muir (4.20 pps, 3.70 kps) led the 'Dons offensively, all averaging over 4.00 points per set and 3.50 kills per set. Banner and Casey Lyons protected the net, both totaling 8.0 blocks.

Last Time Out
Purdue Fort Wayne dropped their season opener to Missouri S&T (Jan. 10) in five sets (25-21, 23-25, 20-25, 25-23, 15-13). Logan Muir and Hunter Hopkins both set new career highs in the match. Muir tied his career high of total attempts (46) to record a new high of 28 kills. Hopkins set his career-high mark in assists, totaling 63 of the Mastodons' 71 kills. Hopkins finished with a double-double, recording 11 digs to go along with his career-high assists. Muir added eight digs and three aces with his career-high kill number. Banner finished with 18 kills on a team-high .469 hitting percentage in his first game as a Mastodon.

The 'Dons claimed their first victory over (RV) NJIT (Jan. 11) in five sets (25-20, 18-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-12). Newcomers Owen Banner and Carlo Huisden led the 'Dons offensively in the match, combining for 43 of the 'Dons 67 kills. Banner finished with 21 kills, two aces, nine digs and three total blocks. Huisden tallied 22 kills on a .472 hitting percentage, along with seven digs. Hunter Hopkins finished with a near double-double of 53 assists and nine digs. Casey Lyons tied his career-high with eight block assists. Andrew Mayer dug out 11 attacks in the contest.

Preseason All-MIVA
Logan Muir was selected for the Preseason All-MIVA Team on December 15. Muir was named to the 2025 All-MIVA Second Team following last season. The Junior led the Mastodons in points (464.5), kills (391) and service aces (41) last year. He was second in the MIVA in kills per set (4.39), aces per set (0.41) and points per set (5.19) during conference play. Muir's 5.09 points per set ranked fifth in the nation. The California native also was 10th in the MIVA in hitting percentage with .299. Muir recorded double-digit kills in 19 of the 'Dons' 26 matches. He hit a career-high 23 kills in three sets at McKendree, the third most in the program's rally scoring era.

Fresh Faces
Purdue Fort Wayne begins the 2026 season with a roster refresh, adding five freshmen and two transfers. The additions include Carlo Huisden (OH), Joaquin Jones (S), Vince Spadoni (OH), Jean Paul Gonzalez (OH), Owen Banner (OH/OPP), Ethan Skalski (OH/OPP) and Brody McAfee (OPP/MB).

Coming Up
The 'Dons will return home to host Maryville (Jan. 23) and Charleston (Jan. 24) on the Arnie Ball Court.

~ Feel the Rumble ~