GAME NOTES (PDF)
LIVE VIDEO: Mount Olive Match | King Match
LIVE STATS: Mount Olive Match | King Match
 
CHICAGO (January 10, 2019) – The Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team heads to Bristol, Tenn. this weekend (Jan. 11-12) to square off with a pair of Conference Carolinas institutions. The Ramblers open the two-match road trip against Mount Olive at 4 p.m. on Friday, followed by a tilt with the defending Conference Carolinas Champion King University at 7 p.m. the following day.
 
Last Time Out: Loyola went 1-1 on opening weekend. The loss came at the hands of a five-set heartbreaker to No. 4 UC Irvine on Jan. 4, while the Ramblers bounced back to sweep North Greenville the following day. Senior Middle blocker Paul Narup made his presence known at the net by compiling 13 total blocks (three solo) in his seven sets of work. Senior outside hitter Collin Mahan also got off to a splendid start in his final season in Rogers Park, notching 21 kills (3.00 per set) and eight blocks over the weekend.
 
A Look at the Trojans Mount Olive, picked to finish second in its conference, begins its season on Thursday (Jan. 10) vs. No. 1 Long Beach State. The Trojans enter 2019 with a new head coach at the helm of the program in Ali'I Keohohou. The Hawaii native most recently worked as a player-coach in Durham University in England, and has NCAA playing experience of his own at CSUN. UMO returns two 2018 All-Conference selections in Brad Monaghan and Luke Visgitis, but will miss the graduation of Robert Poole who led the nation in service aces last year with 73. Monaghan was featured on the Off-The-Block Karch Kiraly watch list as one of the top outside hitters in the nation.
 
A Look at the Tornado: King earned its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance last season through the automatic bid of winning the Conference Carolinas Tournament. Repeating last year's run will be difficult for the Tornado after losing three All-Conference selections to graduation. Among notable returning players, the Tornado boast middle blockers Jon Wheaton and Dalton Johnson. Wheaton had a phenomenal 2018 that saw him rank 14^th in DI-II in blocks pert set (1.10) and finished third in the conference with a .354 attack percentage. Johnson logged 12 solo blocks in just 47 sets last year and is likely in line for more playing time his senior season.
 
Series Stuff: The Ramblers have limited history against this weekend's opponents, seeing them just three times combined. The one and only matchup against Mount Olive came in 2014 when Loyola set a program record with a .679 hitting percentage throughout the match. Loyola outhit its visitors .679 to -.097 in the three-set victory, consequently running a 40-17 advantage in kills. The Ramblers check in 2-0 all-time against King with the victories coming in 2012 and 2018. Last year's contest was the only time Loyola has dropped a set against a Conference Carolinas team, but the Ramblers took care of business in four thanks to a .347 attack and four players logging double-digit kills.
 
Up Next: The Maroon and Gold return home and welcome MPSF powerhouse Pepperdine and UC San Diego to town next weekend (Jan. 18-19). Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m. and begin a stretch of five straight opponents from California for the Ramblers.
 
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