CHICAGO (April 16, 2022) – The Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association's tournament is underway as the Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team hosted one of four quarterfinal rounds. The Ramblers secured the No. 2 seed in the tournament following the regular season as their opponent, the Lindenwood Lions, earned the seventh seed. At the end of the match, the Ramblers came out on top, defeating the Lions in three sets (25-20, 25-19, 25-22).
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Ramblers came out swinging from the first set. Loyola took an early lead that grew once Andrew Lyons registered a kill and then went on a four-point service run. With that cushion, the Ramblers were able to finish the set with a 25-20 win.
 
From there, the Ramblers kept pushing forward. Although there were no big runs in this game, the Maroon and Gold put together short runs throughout in order to pull out another win over the Lions, this time with a score of 25-19. 
 
Once the two teams came back from the break, Lindenwood was the team to hit the ground running. They took an early lead that carried through the first half of this third set, jeopardizing Loyola's chances for a sweep. But when it came down to it, the Ramblers fought back hard, taking back the lead and ultimately winning this third and final set 25-22. 
 
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Parker Van Buren led the Ramblers in kills yet again, registering 15 with only two errors for a .433 hitting percentage. Cole Schlothauer was right behind him with eight kills and one error for a .368. 
• Henry Payne earned his first career double-double, grabbing 10 kills and 10 digs. He also added on two blocks, which was tied for the most on the team.
• Zolg made key plays not only as the team's primary setter, but also as an attacker. He finished this game with 39 assists while also adding on three kills for a .750 hitting percentage. 
• The middle blockers were some of the most efficient players on offense. Jimmy Meinhart was almost perfect on offense with eight kills on nine attempts to hit .889 while Lyons ended up with six kills and one error.

UP NEXT
The Ramblers will host the semifinal round of the MIVA tournament as they play the winner of No. 3 McKendree and No. 6 Purdue Fort Wayne. That game will be played at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20. Both live stats and a live stream through ESPN+ will be available. 
 
For full coverage of the MIVA tournament with the bracket and results, head to mivavolleyball.com.