CHICAGO (February 6, 2020) – The Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team begins Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association play on Saturday, hosting No. 10 Purdue Fort Wayne (4-2) at Gentile Arena. The 3-7 Ramblers welcome their conference foe at 7 p.m. and look to fight back after two consecutive losses last weekend.

Last Time Out: Loyola dropped a pair of matches in Fairfax, Va. last weekend, falling to No. 12 George Mason and Barton. Despite the Ramblers 3-0 loss to Barton, Kyle Piekarski reached a career-high 13 kills. Piekarski now leads the MIVA with a .511 hitting percentage. Cole Schlothauer also tallied 13 kills and now leads the MIVA in kills (129), sits fourth in the MIVA in digs (59) and tied is for fourth in kills per set (4.69). The outside hitter recorded double-digit kills for the ninth time this season against Barton. Senior setter Ian Cowen is also third in the MIVA with 9.65 assists per set.

Scouting the Mastodons: Purdue Fort Wayne kicked off the season ranked 14th in the AVCA Division I-II Preseason Poll and have made their way up to No. 10 with a 4-2 record. The Mastodons were picked second in the MIVA Preseason Poll, while Pelegrin Vargas earned MIVA Preseason Player of the Year. Head coach Ryan Perrotte is in his fifth season with the Mastodons after guiding the team to a 17-12 (8-6 MIVA) record last season and a trip to the MIVA Semifinal for the first time since 2014. Vargas is a two-time First Team All-MIVA selection and two-time AVCA All-America Honorable Mention. He finished the 2019 season first in the MIVA with 406 kills and was third in kills per set with 3.83. As a junior, Vargas earned MIVA Offensive Player of the Week three times, Defensive Player of the Week once, and Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week once. In his first match back in the lineup this season, Vargas had 22 kills to lead Purdue Fort Wayne to a 3-0 win over CSUN on January 15. Purdue Fort Wayne is topping the MIVA leaderboard in multiple categories, with Vargas first in kills per set (5.00), Troy Gooch in digs per set (2.40), Richie Diedrich in blocks per set (1.35) and Frederico Santos in assists per set (11.63).

Series Stuff: Loyola leads the all-time series over Purdue Fort Wayne, 30-20. The Ramblers were victorious, 3-1 over the Mastodons in their last meeting on April 17, 2019. Kyle Piekarski recorded eight kills and one ace in the match. 

Up Next: Following this weekend's match, the Maroon & Gold jump back on the road to face Quincy (Feb. 13) and Lindenwood (Feb. 15).