CHICAGO (November 17, 2021) - Loyola (20-8, 13-3 MVC), which has won three of its last four road matches, heads into the final weekend of the 2021 regular season needing one victory to win the Missouri Valley Conference championship outright and lock up the No. 1 seed at next week's MVC Championship in Normal, Ill. Last Saturday's four-set win versus Illinois State, combined with Valparaiso's victory over Bradley, clinched the Ramblers at least a share of the MVC crown. The conference title is Loyola's first since capturing the 2002 Horizon League hardware.
Last weekend's victory over Illinois State was also big in that it snapped a 12-match skid versus the Redbirds, giving the Ramblers their first victory over their in-state rival since October 9, 2015.
Loyola reaped the benefits of being back in Gentile Arena this season and posted an 11-1 record on its home floor. That marks the program's fewest home losses in a season since 2002 when the Ramblers posted a 10-1 ledger in the cozy confines of Alumni Gym.
Loyola is 17-0 this season when it captures set one and has won each of its last 18 matches when it claims the opening act. In fact, since the start of the 2020-21 campaign, the Ramblers are 27-1 when winning the first set of a match. Last week's come-from-behind, four-set decision over Illinois State was just Loyola's third win this season when dropping the opening set.
For the second time in three years, the Ramblers have won 20 or more matches. Prior to the 2019 campaign, Loyola had produced just one 20-win season (20 wins in 2015) since 2005, but head coach Amanda Berkley has now steered the program to four consecutive winning seasons, including a pair of years with 20 or more victories.
Should Loyola prevail in both contests in Iowa this weekend, it would give the program its most victories since 2004 when that squad posted a 22-9 overall mark and fell to Wisconsin in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Current Loyola head coach Amanda Berkley was a freshman on that Badgers squad.
Loyola has a chance to equal or better the program record for conference wins (14), regardless of league affiliation, set in 2019.
Scouting Drake
The Bulldogs have fallen in nine of their last 11 contests, including two straight, heading into Friday's showdown in Des Moines. Drake is 3-4 at home in Valley play this fall and has won its last two outings at the Knapp Center. Of those four setbacks at home in league action, two have come in five sets. Junior outside hitter Haley Bush, who collected MVC Player of the Year accolades last season, is having another solid year and is contributing a team-best 3.82 kills per set. Loyola has captured six of the last seven meetings with Drake and has also won six of the last seven encounters in Des Moines, including each of the last two. Addie Barnes had 17 kills and Loyola hit .415 (46-7-94) in a three-set sweep of Drake earlier this month in Chicago.
Scouting Northern Iowa
Northern Iowa is peaking at the right time and has won three of its last four outings as it fights to earn a berth in next week's MVC Championship in Normal, Ill. The Panthers have won three straight matches at McLeod Center and are led by sophomore outside hitter Emily Holterhaus, who accounts for 2.67 kills and 2.31 digs per set. After dropping the first 22 matches in the all-time series with Northern Iowa, Loyola has prevailed in each the last three matchups and picked up a four-set victory at Gentile Arena last month thanks to 15 kills and 14 digs from Addie Barnes. The Ramblers are 1-10 all-time against the Panthers in Cedar Falls but posted a 3-1 win at McLeod Center on March 22 for their first-ever victory versus UNI.
Up Next
Loyola will compete in the MVC Championship next weekend in Normal, Ill. The Ramblers will begin play with a semifinal-round match on Friday, Nov. 26.
