Game Notes (PDF)
Live Video: UCLA Match | PSU Match
Live Stats: UCLA Match | PSU Match
 
CHICAGO (January 30, 2019) – After winning a match and losing a match on its most recent road trip, the Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team closes out the first portion of non-conference play by welcoming No. 5 UCLA (Jan. 31) and Penn State (Feb. 2) to Gentile Arena. The Ramblers slipped to No. 7 in the most recent AVCA DI-II Coaches Poll, but have an opportunity to make up the ground with the upcoming slate against two worthy opponents.
 
Last Time Out: Loyola engineered an impressive road sweep over No. 11 CSUN (Jan. 25) but also fell to No. 10 UC Santa Barbara in four. The weekend improved Loyola to 6-2 on the season, the best overall record in the conference. Freshman opposite Luke Denton led the team with nine total blocks over the weekend (1.29 per set) to garner MIVA Defensive Player of the Week. The honor comes one week after Collin Mahan took home the conference's Offensive Player of the Week award. This is the first time Loyola has been represented with back-to-back MIVA Player of the Week awards since Thomas Jaeschke won two straight on April 14-21, 2015.
 
A Look at the Bruins: The UCLA Bruins, predicted to win the MPSF, enter Thursday with an identical overall record as Loyola and are winners of four of their last five matches. The Bruins' strengths come from the service line (2.23 aces per set – first in the nation), and attack percentage (.366 – third in the nation). The team has two players ranked top-5 in the MPSF in those categories, including Daenan Gyimah who cracks the top-5 in both. The middle blocker is third in the nation with a .521 attack percentage, and recently broke the single-match school record with a .917 outing vs. McKendree (Jan. 11). Senior Micah Ma'a is in his second season as the starting setter, and has guided the Bruins to the MPSF's best attack percentage while ranking fifth in the nation with 10.58 assists per set. Ma'a also contributes immensely to UCLA's service production, ranking third nationally in aces per set (0.769).
 
A Look at the Nittany Lions: Penn State, picked to finish second in the EIVA, is beginning a daunting four-match road trip with four AVCA Top-10 teams on the schedule. When the team makes its way to Rogers Park on Feb. 2, Loyola will face the challenge of containing middle blocker Jason Donorovich, the team leader in hitting percentage (.519) and points per set (3.57) entering Friday. Donorovich paces the Nittany Lions defensively by logging 1.24 blocks per set – a clip that ranks second in the EIVA and 10^th nationally. The 6-9 middle blocker is the reigning EIVA Defensive Player of the Week is coming off a nine block (2-7-9) performance last time out in a 3-0 win vs. Lindenwood, and has registered at least one solo block in four straight matches. Saturday will be Penn State's third MIVA opponent this season, dropping its season opening match to Ohio State (Jan. 5) and will begin the road swing at Lewis on Thursday.  
 
Series Stuff: The Ramblers are looking for their first ever win against UCLA. Thursday will be the third time the teams have squared off in Rogers Park, including Loyola's first ever match in Gentile Arena back in 2009. Loyola and Penn State have lots of history dating back to 1996. The Maroon and Gold hold a 14-11 edge in the head-to-head matches, and have defeated the Nittany Lions seven of the last eight tries. Perhaps the most memorable matchup came in the 2014 NCAA Tournament where the teams jousted to a five-set thriller. Thomas Jaeschke posted at the time a career-high 24 kills to help the Ramblers advance to the National Championship two days later.
 
Up Next: Loyola opens conference play on the road next weekend (Feb. 8-9). The Ramblers begin with Quincy University that Friday at 7 p.m., followed by Lindenwood at 7:30 p.m. the next day.
 
#OnwardLU