MUNCIE, IN & FORT WAYNE, IN  --  The Missouri S&T men's volleyball team is set to begin their 2026 season this Friday, traveling to Indiana for matches at Ball State and Purdue Fort Wayne. Friday's match will be the first time in program history that the Miners have faced Ball State, while Saturday's match will be the second time that S&T has played Fort Wayne.

About the Miners
S&T is primed for another successful season after a 2025 campaign that went ended in a semi-final appearance at the Intercollegiate Volleyball Association tournament. The Miners set several program records last year, including new season-highs for kills (1,012), assists (941), digs (858). and blocks (176).

Tyler Johnwick (Lombard, IL/Glenbard East) is back after setting new program records for blocks in a season (73) and hitting percentage in a season (44.8%), with the latter ranking fifth in NCAA Division I/II volleyball. Nate Meyer (Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey) is returning as well after leading the Miners in total kills (270) as he has done every season since the program's inception in 2023. The rest of the Miners' 2025 starting rotation will be back as well, with key contributors like Aaron Sallade (Palatine, Ill./William Fremd), Grant Edmonds (Huntington Beach, CA/Edison), and Caleb Rohlwing (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) all set to compete this year. 

About the Cardinals
Ball State went 17-13 and 9-7 against Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) opponents last year. Their season ended on a four-game losing skid, including a five-set loss to Lewis University in the MIVA quarterfinals.

The Cardinals welcomed new head coach Mike Iandolo over the summer and started the new era off strong with a 3-0 sweep against Division III Trine University. They lost two of their top three attackers from last season, but return 2025 kills leader Patrick Rogers whose 363 kills were the 16th-most in NCAA DI/II. Victor Scherer is expected to be an impact transfer for the Cardinals as a strong defender, having finished the 2023 season as the national leader in digs per set (3.56).

About the Mastodons
Purdue Fort Wayne's match against Missouri S&T will be their first of the 2026 season as they look to improve upon an 11-15 record from 2025. The Mastodons dropped their last nine sets of the season last year, falling in three sweeps against the McKendree Bearcats.

The Mastodons' biggest offensive weapon is back this season, with Logan Muir coming off a season where he was 5th in DI/II for points per set (5.09), 6th in kills per set (4.29), and 18th in service aces per set (.45). Muir will have to adjust this year though since 2025 primary setter Andrej Polomac transferred to Pepperdine. Middle blocker Casey Lyons is also expected to be a threat at the net this season after leading Fort Wayne in blocks last year with 76.

What's Next
S&T travels to the east coast next week for matches at Fairleigh Dickinson, Dominican (NY), and St. Thomas Aquinas.

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