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CHICAGO (February 28, 2019) – First place in the MIVA is on the line when the No. 7-ranked Loyola Ramblers men's volleyball team welcomes No. 10 Lewis to Gentile Arena for a duel between the conference foes. The two Chicago-area based programs are set to begin battle at 7 p.m. on Friday (March 1).
 
Last Time Out: Loyola took care of business in its two road matches last week with wins over McKendree (Feb. 21) and Ohio State (Feb. 24). The victories extended the Ramblers' winning streak to seven. The program's active MIVA winning streak is also now at seven straight – a stretch that dates back to last year. Will Tischler led the Ramblers with 25 kills (3.57 per set) over the course of the two victories, and tallied three service aces at Ohio State to tie his season high. The straight-sets win over the Buckeyes was Loyola's first in Columbus since 2015, and just the third all-time.
 
A Look at the Flyers: Lewis, picked to win the MIVA, is neck-and-neck with Loyola in the conference standings midway through the season. The Flyers went 7-4 in their first portion of non-conference play, all against common opponents with LUC with the exception of a midweek match vs. Dominican University. Lewis features its usual suffocating attack from the service line (1.74 aces per set – 6^th nationally), including the nation's leader in Matt Yoshimoto with 0.74 per set. The senior setter has tallied 42 already and is on a trajectory to break the single-season program record. Middle blocker Tyler Mitchem leads the conference in attack percentage at a .515 clip. The Bolingbrook, Illinois, native was named AVCA National Player of the Week on February 19.
 
Series Stuff: The two rivals have played at least twice a year every year dating back to Loyola's inception in 1996. The Ramblers hold a 35-23 all-time series lead and enter Friday on a two-match winning streak versus the Flyers. Loyola also holds the longest head-to-head winning streak at seven, lasting from 2004-07. The Maroon and Gold swept the Flyers in both matchups last year to mark just the third time Loyola took every set against Lewis in each match played throughout the season. Consequently, the triumph marked the first straight-sets victory over the Flyers since 2010.
 
Up Next: The Ramblers will play their final two non-conference matches of the regular season against Grand Canyon University. The annual spring break trip will match Loyola up with GCU on March 8-9 in Phoenix.
 
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