Ball State men’s volleyball heads to Los Angeles in search of history.
The university has never won a team national championship in any sport. That could change over the span of 48 hours.
The No. 4-seeded Cardinals (26-4) start that quest for history Saturday night, May 9, against UC Irvine (20-8) in the first of two national semifinals inside of Pauley Pavilion on the campus of UCLA. The showdown between the Cardinals and Anteaters has a scheduled start time of 6:30 p.m. ET. They will be followed by No. 2 Hawaii (28-5) vs. No. 3 Long Beach State (25-4) at approx. 9:30 p.m. ET.
Both Ball State and UC Irvine are coming off dramatic quarterfinal victories. Ball State outlasted Pepperdine in five sets, with Patrick Rogers delivering back-to-back service aces to clinch a 16-14 win in the decisive set. The Cardinals rallied to score the final four points of the match to advance to the final four.
Meanwhile, UC Irvine pulled off the upset of the season last weekend, ousting No. 1 and prohibitive favorite UCLA in five sets. Like BSU, the Anteaters also scored the final four points to rally for a 16-14 win in the final set.
Who will earn the right to play for a national championship Monday night? The Star Press will be providing live updates as the match goes along. Follow below, then come back later for a full recap of the contest!
Ball State vs UC Irvine men’s volleyball Final Four updates
SET 2
-Ball State 18, UC Irvine 13: The Cardinals are maintaining a 3-5 point lead right now. Patrick Rogers has been excellent in this second set for BSU.
-Ball State 13, UC Irvine 9: The Cardinals are hitting .500 right now after going .114 in the first set.
-Ball State 10, UC Irvine 7: timeout Anteaters. Largest lead of the night so far for BSU. Cardinals’ block has been effective early here.
-Ball State 7, UC Irvine 5: Another back-and-forth start to a set. The Cardinals have tied their largest lead of the match here.
SET 1 FINAL: UC Irvine 25, Ball State 19
The Anteaters were able to string together more consistent scoring runs than the Cardinals. They recorded five blocks in the set compared to three from BSU. The Cardinals hitting percentage was just .114 in the set, while Irvine was at .324.
-UC Irvine 18, Ball State 13: Another timeout for the Cardinals. Jokanovic up to four kills for UCI so far.
-UC Irvine 13, Ball State 9: Cardinals call timeout after the Anteaters rattle off three unanswered points. UCI capitalizing on BSU being out of rotation.
-Ball State 6, Irvine 6: As expected, a back-and-forth affair to start this one.
Starting lineups
UC IRVINE: Shane Aitken, William D’Arcy, Micah Goss, Andrej Jokanovic, Trevor Clark, Cameron Kosty, Andreas Brinick
BALL STATE: Wil Basilio, Lucas Machado, Ryan Louis, Victor Scherer, Bray Savitski-Lynde, Patrick Rogers, Will Patterson
How to watch NCAA men’s volleyball national semifinals
TV: None
Streaming: ESPN+
Watch men’s volleyball on ESPN+
Both semifinal matches Saturday — No. 4 Ball State vs. UC Irvine at 6:30 p.m. ET, and No. 2 Hawaii vs. No. 3 Long Beach State at 9:30 p.m. ET — will not be televised through traditional cable. They will be streamed exclusively on the ESPN+ service. Monday’s championship match is set to air on ESPN2.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ball State vs UC Irvine men’s volleyball Final Four live score, updates
Reporting by Austin Hough, USA TODAY NETWORK / Muncie Star Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
