CHICAGO (February 19, 2021) - Loyola, which has won seven of its last nine Missouri Valley Conference road matches dating back to last season, heads to Indiana State for a pair of contests this weekend. A youthful Ramblers squad had a three-match winning streak snapped last Monday with a five-set loss to Evansville in Chicago. Loyola has gone the distance in each of its four matches at The Alfie Norville Practice Facility this season, but has yet to play a five-set match on the road in 2021. The Ramblers have played shorthanded this season, going with the services of a pair of 2019 First Team All-MVC picks in outside hitter Addie Barnes and middle hitter Taylor Venuto due to injury. Barnes has yet to see action this year and Venuto has been sidelined the last three matches. With both Barnes and Venuto out of the lineup, the Ramblers have managed to post a 3-1 ledger.

Loyola is 18-6 (.750) in its last 24 regular season MVC contests and in the last two road matches, the Ramblers have fielded a potent attack that is hitting .282 (89-32-202).

Fast starts in Valley play have been the norm in head coach Amanda Berkley's two previous seasons in Chicago. A year ago, Loyola jumped out to a 6-0 start in Valley play, its best in conference action since 2001, when it commenced Horizon League competition with a 7-0 ledger. In Berkley's first season on the Ramblers' bench in 2018, she guided the Maroon and Gold to a 3-0 start in MVC matches. This year, Loyola is off to a 4-2 start in league competition.

Freshman setter Jenna Appel has recorded a double-double in each of the Ramblers' last two outings, averaging 10.20 assists and 3.70 digs per set in those contests. She totaled 50 assists and 20 digs against Evansville on February 15 and her 9.86 assists per set average this season ranks second in The Valley.

Loyola – Indiana State -  The Series

The Ramblers and Sycamores are matching up for the 23rd time in a series that started in 1980. Loyola possesses a 14-8 advantage in the series and has prevailed in each of the last four meetings and although the Ramblers are 5-5 when playing in Terre Haute, they have emerged victorious in three of the last four contests at ISU Arena, including each of the last two. Since taking over the Loyola program for the 2018 season, Amanda Berkley is 4-0 against Indiana State. When these two teams last met, on November 2, 2019 in Chicago, Quinn Spieker clubbed 18 kills and Addie Barnes added 14 in a 3-1 Loyola victory.

Scouting Indiana State

Indiana State is just 1-4 in its last five matches, but its lone win during that stretch was a four-set victory over Illinois State on February 8. The Sycamores are 1-2 at ISU Arena but snapped a two-game home court slide with that win against Illinois State. Junior middle blocker Madeline Williams produces a team-high 2.64 kills and 0.79 blocks per set and is hitting at a .253 (74-25-154) rate. Outside hitters Mallory Keller and Gretchen Kuckkan put up 2.46 kills per set each and Kuckkan adds 2.39 digs per set. 

Up Next

Loyola opens up a four-match homestand when its welcomes Illinois State to Rogers Park on February 28 and March 1.