CHICAGO (Jan. 20, 2022) – After a strong showing in Gentile last weekend, the Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team is ready to host two games here in Rogers Park. The Ramblers take on the Belmont Abbey Crusaders and No. 5 Long Beach State University on both Friday and Saturday for another weekend of non-conference play.
LAST TIME OUT
It has been a week since the Ramblers were on the floor for competition as they hosted the Saint Francis University Red Flash and the New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders. Even with this tough competition, the Maroon and Gold came out with big wins over the weekend, bringing them to .500 at the start of the season.
Redshirt freshman
Parker Van Buren had a weekend to remember as he registered 17 kills while hitting .593 on Friday and tallied 15 kills while hitting .407 on Saturday. This performance along with his 10 total blocks was good enough to earn MIVA Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Along with Van Buren,
Andrew Lyons had a stellar defensive performance against the Highlanders on Saturday. The redshirt junior totaled 11 blocks on the night to grab MIVA Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Those two players weren't the only ones to stand out this weekend.
Garrett Zolg commanded the offense yet again for the Ramblers as he recorded 73 assists across the seven sets.
FIRST FACEOFF WITH THE CRUSADERS
This is the first time these two programs will face each other since their inceptions. Belmont Abbey will come into this match with a perfect record as they swept the newly-formed Division I team in LIU Brooklyn and an NCCAA opponent beginning their second season in Carolina University.
Their primary hitter Matteo Miselli is ranked nationally in multiple categories. The junior outside hitter is second in the NCAA for kills per set with 4.57 and second in points per set with 5.71. As a whole, the team ranks fourth in kills per set and fifth in assists per set throughout the NCAA.
TOP 10 BATTLE WITH THE BEACH
This is the second Top 10 opponent Loyola will face this season as they prepare to take on No. 5 Long Beach State. The Ramblers have yet to win a match against the Beach since they first played each other back in March 2010. That match was the only time Loyola took a set from LBSU.
The key players for the Beach are Aidan Knipe and Alex Nikolov. These underclassmen are instrumental for Long Beach as they face these top competitors. Currently, Knipe ranks third in the NCAA for assists per set with 11.00 while Nikolov is tied for second in aces per set with 1.00.
Overall, the Beach has one of the strongest offenses in the NCAA as they are ranked fourth with a .459. So far this season, they only played Erskine and Harvard, who they defeated in three sets. In those wins, they kept their opponents to the fourth-lowest hitting percentage in the country with a .135.
WHEREABOUTS
Both matches will take place in Gentile Arena on Friday, Jan. 21, and Saturday, Jan. 22. Friday's match against Belmont Abbey is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. CT on ESPN+. On Saturday, first serve against Long Beach State will be at 7:30 p.m. CT on NBC Sports Chicago+ for those in the Chicagoland area and ESPN+ for the rest of the country.
