LEADING OFF
Loyola Chicago opens the 2024 home slate with the Loyola Invitational this weekend. Loyola hosts Utah for the opener Friday night at 6 pm for the second annual Gentile Jamboree. Also competing in the tournament is Northeastern.
PROMOTIONS & GIVEAWAYS
•250 Loyola branded baseball jerseys for students
•DJ One Chance, Band of Wolves, Loyola Spirit teams
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday, Sept. 13 • vs. Utah • 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 14 • vs. Northeastern • 12 pm
Saturday, Sept. 14 • vs. Utah • 7 pm
Sunday, Sept. 15 • Northeastern vs. Utah • 12 pm
QUICK HITS
• The Ramblers open the 2024 home slate after six tough road matches where Loyola went 2-4. The Ramblers have sweeps over LMU and Marist. They also took sets over Western Michigan, Western Kentucky, and Michigan State.
• Against Marist, the Ramblers tallied a season-high 15 blocks, which ranks second across the Atlantic 10 on the single game highs list.
Esma Ajanovic led the team with eight blocks vs. the Red Foxes.
• Loyola recorded another 13 blocks against Michigan State, which is tied third in the A-10 for a single-game.
• Following the defensive effort, the Ramblers find themselves at the top of the A-10 leaderboards with 56 total blocks and 2.67 blocks per set.
• Individually,
Avary DeBlieck and Ajanovic are in the top-10 for blocks per set. DeBlieck ranks fifth (1.21 b/s) and Ajanovic ties for eighth (1.1 b/s).
• In the road match vs. MSU, Ajanovic set a new career-high with 16 kills to lead Loyola.
•
Marta Cvitkovic was lethal on the serve vs. Western Kentucky with seven aces. She was one shy of tying her career-high. Cvitkovic is third in the conference, averaging .57 aces per set.
• Head coach
Amanda Berkley enters her seventh season at the helm. Her overall record with the Ramblers is 116-69.
SCOUTING UTAH
Utah is 4-1 after opening the season on a four-game win streak. The Utes didn't drop a match until they took on No. 8 Purdue who completed the sweep. Utah was tabbed ninth in the Big 12 Preseason Poll after going 11-16 last year.
Lauren Jardine was named to the Big 12 Preseason Team. During her time at Utah, Jardine has amassed 563 kills, with back-to-back 250+ kill seasons in 2022 and 2023. So far this year, Jardine has 23 kills for the Utes, which includes a season-high nine vs. the nationally ranked Purdue squad.
SERIES HISTORY
This is the first ever meeting between the Ramblers and Utes.
SCOUTING NORTHEASTERN
Northeastern sits at 2-4 overall after finishing 1-2 at their home tournament last weekend. The Huskies have wins over Niagara and Lindenwood. Last year, Northeastern posted an 11-14 overall record with a 9-9 finish in the CAA. The Huskies were tabbed sixth in the league's preseason poll ahead of 2024 kicking off.
Kinley Gomez and Jane Nelson have stepped up for the Huskies. Each had 55 kills this season. Gomez is also first on the team in aces (8), second on the team in digs (46),and fourth in blocks (13). Gomez recorded a double-double in the last match vs. Dartmouth with 12 kills and 10 digs.
SERIES HISTORY
This is the first meeting between Loyola and Northeastern.
