CHICAGO (February 26, 2020) – The Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team will split a pair of matches this weekend, hosting McKendree at home on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. before traveling to No. 5 Lewis on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Last Time Out: Loyola recorded its second-best hitting percentage all season (.356) and upset Ohio State, 3-1 at home before falling to Ball State in a hard-fought five set match. The Ramblers had a 2-0 lead on the Cardinals before they came back to win three sets in a row. In the upset over Ohio State, the Ramblers registered a season-best 10.0 blocks as a team, while Cole Schlothauer led the Ramblers with 17 kills, eight digs and three blocks. Despite taking a tough loss to Ball State, Schlothauer again led Loyola with 20 kills, while Kyle Piekarski registered a career-high 18 kills on .586 percent hitting (18-1-29) and Jake Freeman added a career-high 13 digs. Schlothauer continues to lead the MIVA with 210 kills, having posted double-digits in 14 of 15 matches this season. Piekarski is second in the MIVA with a .495 hitting percentage and is fourth nationally in the category.

Scouting the Bearcats: McKendree (9-6, 3-2 MIVA) recently posted back-to-back wins over Lindenwood and Quincy, taking both decisions, 3-1. Prior to that, the Bearcats fell to Ohio State, 0-3 and Ball State, 1-3. Sophomore libero Francisco Comas was named the MIVA Defensive Player of the Week on Monday after totaling 23 digs in two matches. His 15 digs against Quincy marked his third match of the season with double-digit digs. On Feb. 11, sophomore setter Ryan Serrano was selected as the AVCA National Player of the Week. Serrano played a key role in the Bearcats 3-2 win over No. 6 Lewis with a career-high six kills, 84.7 hitting percentage, and 41 assists. The win marked a new program best as the highest ranked opponent that the Bearcats have ever defeated. Head coach Nickie Sanlin is in her seventh season with the team, having helped build the program up from its first season in 2014. The 2019 squad finished 13-13 (7-7 MIVA) last season and were chosen to finish fourth in the MIVA.

Scouting the Flyers: No. 5 Lewis (11-4, 4-1 MIVA) is currently riding a four-match win streak. The Flyers last loss was to McKendree in five sets on Feb. 7. The Flyers only losses this season have been to the Bearcats, Penn State, Hawaii and BYU. Tyler Mitchem has been an offensive force for Lewis this season and recently hit .735 (25-0-34) last week in wins over Quincy and Lindenwood. The middle blocker averaged 4.17 kills per set and his 15 kills against the Hawks matched his career-high. Mitchem leads the MIVA in hitting percentage and is third nationally in the category at .516 percent. He was named the MIVA Offensive Player of the Week and the AVCA Sports/Imports National Player of the Week on Tuesday. The Flyers have five players ranked in the top 10 eight MIVA categories, including Kyle Bugee, who leads the conference in aces with 0.633 per set. Head coach Dan Friend is in his 16th season at the helm for the Flyers. He is in his 23rd season overall as a collegiate head coach and currently has a 459-231 (.665) overall record.

Series Stuff: Loyola leads the all-time series over both teams. The Ramblers are 11-0 against McKendree and have won every meeting since the teams first met in 2014, the Bearcats inaugural season. Loyola also leads long-time rival Lewis, 35-25. However, the Flyers have won three straight in the series and six of the last eight overall. Lewis won both regular season matches in 2019 and then defeated Loyola 3-0 in the MIVA Championship match. The Ramblers defeated Lewis in both regular season matches in 2018, 3-0.

Up Next: Following their match against Lewis, the Ramblers head to Purdue Fort Wayne on Thursday, March 5 to visit the Mastodons for the second time this season. The match begins at 6 p.m. CT.