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Coach Donan Cruz during the offseason following an upset loss in the MIVA Tournament added even more roster depth at the pins.
That depth was on full display in a marquee non-conference win.
Raje Alleyne, Patrick Rogers and Tinaishe Ndavazocheva each had double-digit kills and a combined four attack errors as No. 5 Ball State swept No. 13 Stanford 25-22, 26-24, 25-16 on Friday in Stanford, California.
Alleyne led all players with 15 kills on a .483 attack percentage in the opener of the two-match road series. The 2024 Division II National Player who transferred to Ball State had an attack error on the fifth play of the opening game and then did not commit an error the rest of the match.
Rogers added 11 kills and hit .409, including a game-high five kills in the final game. Ndavazocheva also contributed 10 kills on a .375 attack percentage to help the Cardinals win their first road match against a MPSF team since 2022.
Along with the offense performance, Ndavazocheva delivered the game-winning ace in the second-game overtime.
Setter Lucas Machado guided the offense to out-hit Stanford .411 to .258.
Ball State hit more than .450 in each of the final two games highlighted with a match-best .519 attack percentage and zero errors in the final game.
Opposite Moses Wagner in the loss finished with a team-high 14 kills and hit .345. Outside attacker Theo Snoey added 11 kills but was limited to a .057 attack percentage against Ball State.
Ball State out-blocked Stanford 6.5 to 1 with middle attacker Vanis Buckholz having a match-high six blocks.
This is the first time since 1997 that Ball State has defeated Stanford. The Cardinals entered this match 1-11 in the all-time series and on a nine-match losing streak against the MPSF school.