CHICAGO (Feb. 4, 2022) – Gentile will be filled with athletes and fans this weekend as the Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team returns to Rogers Park. They spent last weekend in eastern Tennessee, but are back for a weekend series against No. 4 Grand Canyon and Central State. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
Over the weekend, the Ramblers went to Harrogate and Bristol to take on the Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters and the King Tornado. They came back to Chicago with a five-set win over the Tornado and a three-set loss to the Railsplitters. 

FORMER MIVA FACEOFF
The Lopes of Grand Canyon will be back in Chicago for the first time since 2015 when they were members of the MIVA. 
 
Grand Canyon has moved their way up the ranks over the last few seasons, especially this season. The team ranks 11th in the NCAA for digs per set with 9.04 and 12th in blocks per set with 2.25. 
 
Individually, the Lopes have one player who seems to stand above the rest. Camden Gianni is listed in the top 10 in four statistical categories: third for aces per set (.708), fifth in attacks per set (8.71), sixth in points per set (4.85) and ninth in kills per set (3.88).
 
So far this season, the Lopes only have two losses. Both of those are from Penn State, who was ranked fourth when they played.
 
Only three players appeared in all 24 sets for the Lopes, and they are Gianni, Karter Rogers and Cole Udall. Rogers and Gianni are their offensive weapons at the pin while Udall serves as the libero for Grand Canyon.
 
NEW OPPONENT ALERT
This will be the first time these two programs will play each other. Central State is beginning their first season of competition under Head Coach Ray Lewis. 
 
The Marauders has yet to win a match, although they took two sets from Indiana Tech to kick off this inaugural season.
 
There are eight players that have consistently seen time in these first six matches for the Marauders. Yaron Afek leads the team in kills with 43 while Jayden Rookhuyzen is close behind him with 32. 
 
Out of the 13 players on the team, 12 of them are freshmen. One player, Fernando Juarez, transferred in from Long Beach City College. During his time there, the team did not compete due to COVID-19, which makes him a freshman athletically. 
 
WHEREABOUTS
Both games will be in Gentile Arena on Friday and Saturday. The first game of this weekend series will be against the No. 4 Lopes on Friday, Feb. 4. First serve is schedule for 7 p.m. with a live stream available on ESPN+. 
 
For the second game of the series, the Ramblers will take on the Marauders at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 5. First serve is also scheduled for 7 p.m. with a live stream available on ESPN+.