LEADING OFF 
No. 7 Loyola Chicago (6-0, 0-0 MIVA) travels to Malibu, Calif. to take on No. 10 Pepperdine (3-1, 0-0 WCC) on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 9 p.m. CT. It marks the Ramblers' first road match of the season, and the first of two ranked opponents they'll face this week.  

QUICK HITS  

• The Ramblers improved to No. 7 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Collegiate poll, announced by the organization on Monday, Jan. 27. 
• Loyola stayed perfect through its six-match homestand, including a weekend sweep over Missouri S&T (Jan. 24) and Mount Olive (Jan. 25). Against the Trojans, the Ramblers served a record-setting 14 aces – the most since at least 2017.  
• In the national ranks, Loyola ranks No. 2 in aces per set (2.62), No. 5 in hitting percentage (.371) and No. 9 in kills per set (12.76). On the MIVA leaderboard, the Ramblers are No. 1 in points/set (17.76) and service aces/set, No. 2 in kills/set and hitting percentage, No. 3 in blocks/set (2.38) and No. 4 in assists/set (11.52) and digs/set (8.43).  
• Individually on the national leaderboard, Parker Van Buren is No. 5 in aces/set (.810), No. 8 in points/set (4.86) and No. 11 in hitting percentage (.414). Meanwhile, Nicodemus Meyer ranks 16th in blocks/set (1.19) and Daniel Fabikovic is No. 19 in aces/set (.524). 

SCOUTING REPORT  
Pepperdine is 3-1 so far on the season, collecting three consecutive sweeps over Missouri S&T (Jan. 13), D'Youville University (Jan. 19) and Emmanuel University (Jan. 20) to kick off their season. The Wave most recently fell, 2-3 (14-25, 26-24, 25-18, 17-25, 7-15), to No. 1 Long Beach State in a gritty five-set match on Sunday, Jan. 26. The team is currently ranked No. 1 in the country in hitting percentage (.429) and third in aces per set (2.43) 

Freshman standout Cole Hartke leads the team in kills, averaging 2.91 per set on .375 hitting – ranking him No. 24 in the country in hitting percentage. The 6-foot-11, Barrington, Ill. native is also the team leader in service aces with 7 (.64/set), ranking him 10th in the nation in the category. Grad student setter Gabriel Dyer orchestrates the Wave's offense with 89 total assists, averaging 7.42 per set, and anchors the back row with 22 digs. Defensively, Hartke and redshirt sophomore Ethan Watson are the team leaders in blocks with 9.0 apiece.  

SERIES HISTORY 
Loyola leads the all-time series, 2-1, with Pepperdine. The two most recent meetings resulted in Ramblers victories; a five-set, 3-2, thriller inside Gentile Arena in January 2019 then a 3-0 sweep in Malibu in 2018. The first-ever meeting was a 2-3 loss for Loyola at home in 2017.  

FOLLOW THE ACTION 
Stream the match on B1G+ with a subscription and follow men's volleyball on Instagram and X @RamblersMVB for in-game updates.