LEADING OFF 
In another top 15 conference matchup, No. 9 Loyola Chicago (13-2, 5-2 MIVA) travels to No. 12 Ball State on Friday, March 7 to take on the Cardinals at 6 p.m. CT.  

QUICK HITS 

• Parker Van Buren is the league's leader in kills (4.36/set), aces (0.53/set) and points (5.26/set) and setter Ryan McElligott is No. 1 in assists (10.80/set) and No. 2 in aces/ set (0.46). Nicodemus Meyer ranks second in blocks per set, averaging 1.14.   
• The Ramblers lead the MIVA in nine categories: points (17.44/set), hitting percentage (.346), assists (12.16/set), kills (13.0/set), service aces (1.95/set), opponent hitting percentage (.217), opponent assists (10.32/set), opponent kills (10.608/set) and opponent service aces (1.02/set). 
• Nationally as a unit, Loyola ranks fifth in kills per set, sixth in blocks per set (2.49), seventh in hitting percentage and eighth in aces per set. Individually, Van Buren is second in the nation in points/set, third in kill/set, eighth in aces/set and 16th in hitting percentage while McElligott is fourth in assists/set. Meyer slides in at No. 7 in blocks/set net.
• Loyola fell, 3-1, to then-No. 15 Lewis at home on Feb. 27 to disrupt the Ramblers' perfect record inside Gentile Arena and mark their second overall and conference loss of the season.
• Head coach Shane Davis remains the winningest coach in program history with a 277-90 ledger and a .755 winning percentage.   

SCOUTING REPORT 
Ball State (13-5, 6-2 MIVA) is currently on a three-match winning streak, picking up consecutive conference wins over then-No. 16 Ohio State (3-2), Lindenwood (3-1) and Quincy (3-1). Previously this season, the Cardinals swept then-No. 13 Stanford in California, took a top five BYU team to five sets in both meetings and defeated then-No. 14 Lewis (3-1).  

Nationally, Ball State ranks third in the country, and in the MIVA, in blocks/set (2.507), eighth in hitting percentage (.336) and 11th in kills/set (12.52). They rank right behind Loyola in the MIVA's statistics in points (16.45/set) and hitting percentage. Individually, the Cardinals are led offensively by Patrick Rogers with 207 total kills and a 3.14/set average, and assist-leader Lucas Machado who averages 9.56/set. At the net, Braydon Savitski-Lynde leads with 53.0 total blocks (0.96/set) and Vanis Buckholz is a close second (48.0). 

SERIES HISTORY 
The Ramblers lead the all-time series with the Cardinals, 29-13.  Last year, Ball State snapped a five-match losing streak to Loyola after going 2-0 over the Ramblers in the regular season. The Cardinals won the first match, 3-1, in Muncie, Ind. before taking down the Ramblers in five sets, 3-2, on the road, marking the program's second time ever defeating Loyola inside Gentile Arena. 

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