LEADING OFF 
No. 8 Loyola Chicago (4-0, 0-0 MIVA) welcomes Missouri S&T (0-4, 0-0 IVA) on Friday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. and Mount Olive (2-0, 0-0 CC) on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 5 p.m. The back-to-back matches mark the final weekend of a six-match homestand for the Ramblers before they head to California next week.    

QUICK HITS 

• Parker Van Buren earned the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) Offensive Player of the Week award on Tuesday, Jan. 21 after he combined for 38 points across two matches. The weekly honor marked the 12th of Van Buren's career and back-to-back nods for the Ramblers.
• Redshirt freshman Alex Smits Van Oyen made his first two career starts against Saint Francis (Jan. 17) and Rockhurst (Jan. 18); the 6-foot-6 setter orchestrated the offense with 68 total assists, 27 vs. The Red Flash and a season/career-high 41 vs. the Hawks. He contributed on both sides of the ball, adding eight digs, four blocks, two kills and an ace through his first two matches.
• In the national ranks, Loyola ranks No. 3 in aces per set (2.47), No. 7 in hitting percentage (.388) and No. 10 in kills per set (12.93). Individually, Van Buren ranks No. 17 in the nation in hitting percentage (.419) while Daniel Fabikovic is No. 22 (.387); in kills per set, Van Buren is tied for No. 11 (4.00) and Fabikovic is No. 22 (3.73).  
• In the league's standings, the Ramblers lead in four categories: points per set (17.54), hitting percentage (.371), kills per set (13.42) and service aces per set (2.25). Individually, Van Buren leads the MIVA in kills per set (4.08) and points per set (4.92) and ranks third in hitting percentage (.380) while Fabikovic is No. 2 in kills/set (4.00), No. 3 in points/set (4.67) and No. 4 in hitting percentage (.372). 
• The Ramblers stayed steady at No. 8 (prev. No. 8) in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Collegiate poll, announced on Monday, Jan. 20. 

SCOUTING REPORT 
Missouri S&T opened its season with a tough slate against four Top 20 teams, all 0-3 sweeps by then-ranked No. 16 UC Santa Barbara, No. 15 California State University, Northridge, No. 3 UC Irvine and No. 10 Pepperdine. In their third year as a National Collegiate men's volleyball program, the Miners returned 14 letterwinners and welcomed four newcomers. Junior opposite Aaron Sallade leads the team in kills with 36 while sophomore setter Grant Edmonds orchestrates the offense with 73 assists. Defensively, middle blocker Caleb Rohlwing has a team-high 9.0 blocks and sophomore libero Bartosz Chmielewski anchors Missouri S&T with 22 digs.  

Mount Olive is off to a 2-0 start to the season, collecting two road victories over Fort Valley State. The Trojans returned nine players, added three freshmen and two senior transfers, Blake Hosic from Quincy and Tate Sandvig from Lewis. Sandvig leads the squad in kills (28), averaging 4.0 per set on .500 hitting. Junior setter Jackson Lahey is the current No. 1 in the country in assists per set, averaging 12.0, with 84 total through seven sets. Rookie libero Luca Colombo is No. 5 in the nation in digs per set (2.86) and the team-leader with 20. The Trojans are at the Lewis Flyers on Friday, Jan. 24 before heading to Rogers Park.  

SERIES HISTORY  
Loyola holds the all-time series advantage over both Missouri S&T, 1-0, and Mount Olive, 2-0. The Ramblers took on the Miners for the first time ever in January 2023, resulting in a 3-0 sweep inside Gentile Arena. The Maroon and Gold most recently defeated the Trojans, 3-0, in January 2019 in a neutral site match; the programs met for the first time in January 2014, with the Ramblers cleaning the house 3-0. 

FOLLOW THE ACTION 
Stream the match on Marquee Sports Network and ESPN+ and follow men's volleyball on Instagram and X @RamblersMVB for in-game updates.