LEADING OFF
Loyola Chicago continues local action this week with a pair of matches at DePaul as part of the 2024 Chicago Cup. The Ramblers will meet the Flames Thursday night at 5 p.m. with the Blue Demons to follow on Saturday at 5 p.m. in McGrath-Philips Arena. The two matches will conclude non-conference action.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Thursday, Sept. 19 • vs. UIC (at DePaul) • 5 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 21 • at DePaul • 5 pm

QUICK HITS
• The Ramblers hosted their annual Loyola Invitational last weekend, taking on Utah twice and Northeastern once. Loyola swept Northeastern for its first home win of the season.
• In the win, Marta Cvitkovic led the Ramblers with 11 kills, while Olivia Lovett posted a .500 hitting percentage and season-best nine kills. Jae Fitting had 19 digs, and Bree Borum 37 assists, which were both game-highs.
• Borum tallied two double-doubles over the weekend. Both came against Utah. In game one, Borum tallied 24 assists and 14 digs, and in game two, she had 34 assists and 12 digs. Borum was one kill shy in game one of a triple-double.
• Cvitkovic exploded for a season-high 17 kills against the Utes in game two. It's a single-game high for Loyola this season and is the sixth time this season a Rambler has eclipsed double-digit kills. Cvitkovic has four of those six occurrences.
• Fitting collected her second Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week accolade following the three-match stretch. She posted 47 digs, 13 assists, and six service aces over the three-game stretch.
• The freshman libero recorded three straight games with double-digit digs. She had 10 against Utah in the home opener, 19 in a sweep over Northeastern with a perfect reception percentage, and another 18 vs. Utah in the closer. Overall, she averaged 4.7 digs per set.
• On the A-10 leaderboards, a few Ramblers fall inside the top-10. Borum is averaging 8.55 assists/set, ranking second, while Fitting leads the conference with 4.52 digs/set.
• Avary DeBlieck is tied seventh with 1.03 blocks/game and ranks eighth with a .321 hitting percentage. Cvitkovic is tied third with .52 aces/set.
• Head coach Amanda Berkley is in her seventh season at the helm. Her overall record with the Ramblers is 117-71.

SCOUTING UIC
UIC enters the final week of non-conference play at 7-2 overall. The Flames were riding a three-match win streak before falling to Chicago State on the road earlier this week. Head coach Justin Ingram notched his 300th career win in a 3-2 battle with Brown over the weekend. Last season, UIC posted a 21-12 overall record and 11-7 in league play. The Flames were tabbed second in the MVC Preseason Poll with one first-place vote in August.

Zaria Woodard was a MVC Preseason All-Conference selection. She currently leads the Flames with 105 kills this season, averaging 2.84 a set. She opened the season on a four-match double-figure kill streak, highlighted by a season-high 17 kills vs. FGCU. Woodard is also extremely active at the net, averaging 4.0 blocks/set. She had a season-high seven vs. North Dakota State.

SERIES HISTORY
Loyola leads the all-time series, 37-32. The Flames have swept the last two meetings in 2023 and 2022.

SCOUTING DEPAUL
The Blue Demons sit at 6-3 ahead of this week's action on their home court. Currently, DePaul is 1-2 in McGrath-Phillips Arena with its only home win coming against Brown. The Blue Demons opened the season with a 3-0 weekend at the Bradley Tournament after downing Southern Indiana, St. Thomas and the Braves. Last year, DePaul finished 18-15 overall and 9-9 in Big East play. The team was tabbed fourth in the league's preseason poll back in August.

Jill Pressly and Audrey Klemp have both surpassed the 100-kill mark already this season. Pressly leads DePaul with 147 total kills, while Klemp has 120. Pressly's 147 kills leads the Big East and is 17th in the country, while her 4.08 kills/set sits 48th in the NCAA.

SERIES HISTORY
The Ramblers lead the all-time series, 32-15. DePaul has won the last three matches.