Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Loyola University Chicago Athletics

See Schedule
Loyola Men's Volleyball vs. UCLA
Steve Woltmann Photo

Men's Volleyball

Ramblers Look to Stay Hot on Road Trip at McKendree, Ohio State

Game Notes (PDF)
Live Video: McKendree Match | Ohio State Match
Live Stats: McKendree Match | Ohio State Match
 
CHICAGO (February 20, 2019) – The red-hot Loyola Ramblers engage in their second MIVA road trip of the season against McKendree (Feb. 21) and Ohio State (Feb. 24). Winners of its last five matches, Loyola enters the slate as the No. 7 ranked team in the country and tied with No. 10 Lewis for the best MIVA record at 4-0.
 
Last Time Out: Loyola knocked off two AVCA Top-15 teams last weekend at Gentile Arena to improve to 11-3 this season and 4-0 in MIVA play. The four-set wins over No. 15 Purdue Fort Wayne and No. 12 Ball State improved the Ramblers to 4-3 against ranked teams. Collin Mahan tallied a total of 35 kills (4.38 per set), 20 of which came vs. Ball State. Entering Wednesday, Mahan is second in the conference in kills per set this season (3.63) and his 185 total is 10 off the MIVA leader (Omari Wheeler, Quincy). Middle blocker Paul Narup paced the Ramblers' defensive efforts with 16 total blocks (five solo) in eight sets played to earn the conference's Defensive Player of the Week.
 
A Look at the Bearcats: McKendree, picked to finish seventh in the MIVA, currently sits in third place in the conference standings with a 3-1 MIVA record. The hot start has been paced by a 4-1 record in the last five, highlighted by a sweep on the road against Ball State (Feb. 7). The Bearcats have two players in the MIVA's Top-5 in blocks per set. Tommy McGrath leads the conference with a 1.27 average, while Wyatt Dimke isn't too far off with the fifth best clip 1.10. As a team, the Bearcats rank third nationally with a 2.77 blocks per set average.
 
A Look at the Buckeyes: Ohio State was picked to finish third in the MIVA, but enter the weekend 5-9, and a 1-3 MIVA record that ranks seventh. Hit with an abundance of injuries, the Buckeyes have still managed to crack the MIVA top five in team assists per set, attack percentage and kills per set. Middle blocker Blake Leeson's .512 attack percentage ranks second in the MIVA, while his 0.86 blocks per set is good for 10th in the conference. The 2018 Second Team All-MIVA honoree is fresh off a 16-kill, .696 attack performance in the Buckeyes' 3-1 win over Quincy (Feb. 16).
 
Series Stuff: Loyola will enter Thursday with an unblemished 9-0 all-time record against McKendree. In the previous matchups, the Ramblers look every set versus the Bearcats until last year's road matchup when they won in four. Ohio State is the only MIVA team that Loyola does not hold a winning record against, entering Sunday at a 20-37 clip. The team will have an opportunity to win its first match in Columbus since 2015.
 
Up Next: The Maroon and Gold return home for one match against arch-rival Lewis on March 1. The 7 p.m. first serve will be the last home match at Gentile until March 28.
 
#OnwardLU
 
Print Friendly Version