CHICAGO (March 30, 2021) - Sixth-seeded Loyola (9-8, 8-8 MVC) is making its fourth Missouri Valley Conference Championship appearance as well as its second in as many seasons, and the Ramblers will battle No. 3 seed Missouri State Thursday at 8 p.m. CT in a quarterfinal round contest at Redbird Arena in Normal, Ill. The Ramblers, who are just 2-5 in their last seven matches, are seeking their first-ever win in MVC Championship play and are in search of their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2005.

The Ramblers are looking to capture their first win in conference tournament action since November 16, 2012, when they disposed of Green Bay in three sets at the Horizon League Championship quarterfinals in Cleveland, Ohio. Loyola has won a conference tournament title five times in program history - 1995, 1999 and 2000 (Midwestern Collegiate Conference) and 2004 and 2005 (Horizon League).

The Ramblers defeated each of the three other teams on their side of the MVC Championship bracket - Drake, Missouri State and Northern Iowa - at least one time this season.

Loyola – Missouri State – The Series

Loyola and Missouri State are pairing up for the 19th time in a series that dates back to 1987. After stumbling in 11 of their first 12 encounters with the Bears, the Ramblers have captured four of the last six meetings, although the teams split a two-match series in Chicago last month. This will be the second time these two teams have met in the MVC Championship and the first since 2015, when Missouri State collected a 3-0 quarterfinal-round victory in Springfield, Mo. When the teams last met, on March 8 in Rogers Park, Emily Banitt clubbed a team-high 12 kills and pitched in nine digs, in Loyola's three-set loss to the Bears. 

Scouting Missouri State

After enduring a three-match losing skid, Missouri State enters the postseason on a three-match winning streak. The Bears played six of their final eight regular-season contests on the road and went 4-4 in that stretch. An outside hitting tandem of junior Amelia Flynn (3.77 kills, 2.92 digs per set) and sophomore Brooklyn Cink (3.63 kills, 2.66 digs, 0.41 aces per set) paces a Missouri State attack that hits .181 as a team. The Bears, who did not qualify for the 2019 MVC Championship, reached the title match of the league tournament three straight years from 2015 through 2017, winning the championship in 2017, the last time it was played in Normal.

Up Next

With a win over Missouri State Thursday, the Ramblers would advance to the MVC Championship semifinal round (April 2), where they would face the winner of the Drake – Northern Iowa match.