CHICAGO (January 8, 2020) – The Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team heads to California this week to face UC San Diego (0-0, 0-0 Big West) on Thursday, Jan. 9 at 9 p.m. and No. 8 UC Irvine (1-0, 0-0 Big West) on Friday, Jan.10 at 9 p.m. The Ramblers have a chance to secure the Loyola's 500th win since the program started in 1996.

Last Time Out: Loyola went 1-1 this weekend, snatching its first win of 2020 against King, 3-1, before falling to No. 3 BYU, 3-1. Redshirt freshman Cole Schlothauer posted a career-high 17 kills, eight digs and two aces to lead the Ramblers to victory over King. Along with Schlothauer, a handful of Ramblers made their career debuts, including redshirt freshmen Andrew Lyons and Danny Sutton Farrell, as well as freshmen Anton Frank and Taylan Cook. Schlothauer is leading the Ramblers on 3.50 kills per set on a .258 hitting percentage. Junior Devin Joslyn posted career-highs against both teams this weekend, recording 12 kills against the Tornado and four service aces in both matches. 

Scouting the Tritons: UC San Diego is predicted to finish sixth in the Big West after ending last season with a 7-20 overall record and 0-10 record in the Big West. Head coach Kevin Ring enters his 15th season with UC San Diego and returns four starters and UCSD's primary libero. Junior Wyatt Harrison leads the group of returners after averaging 3.6 points and 3.2 kills per set last season. The outside hitter also contributed 18 service aces. The Tritons also return junior opposite hitter Collin Shannon and senior setter Connor Walbrecht. Shannon averaged 3.1 points and 2.7 kills last season while Walbrecht totalled 489 assists and posted 6.0 assists per set average.

Scouting the Anteaters: No. 8 UC Irvine finished 18-11 (5-5 Big West) last season and is predicted to finish fourth in the Big West this year. Head coach David Kniffin enters his eighth season at UCI and returns 11 letterwinners and welcomes five newcomers. In seven seasons, Kniffin has led the Anteaters to the NCAA Championship (2013), Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular season title (2015) and the MPSF Conference Tournament (2015). All-Americans Scott Stadick and Joel Schneidmiller are the headliners for the Anteaters. Stadick averaged 1.21 blocks and 1.64 kills per set last season and enters his senior year ranked third in career solo blocks with 75. Schneidmiller, a two-time All-American, ranked fifth nationally in service aces last season with a 0.54 average. The outside hitter was second in the Big West in points (4.49), third in kills (3.65) and sixth in hitting percentage (.323). UC Irvine defeated Princeton, 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-20) in its first match on December 29, 2019. Sophomore Alexandre Nsakanda led the Anteaters with 11 kills, hitting .500 percent (11-1-20).

Series Stuff: Loyola leads the all-time series record over both teams. Against UC San Diego, Loyola holds steady 5-1, taking the last five wins. The Ramblers swept the Tritons 3-0 in their last meeting at home on January 19, 2019. The Ramblers also hold a close 6-5 series with UCI. The Anteaters have taken the last two meetings in 2019 and 2018, while Loyola's last victory was in 2016. 

Up Next: Following this weekend's matches, the Ramblers return home to host Penn State (Jan. 17) and Hawaii (Jan. 18). Both matches will start at 7 p.m.