LEADING OFF 
No. 6 Loyola Chicago (19-2, 10-2 MIVA) travels to Charolotte, N.C. to take on conference opponent Queens in two matches on Thursday, April 3 at 5 p.m. CT and Saturday, April 5 at 12 p.m. CT. It's the penultimate road trip for the Ramblers in the regular season. 

QUICK HITS 

• Last week the Ramblers protected their home court, sweeping Lindenwood, 3-0, in both matches. Loyola has won 19 of the last 20 matches inside Gentile Arena, and 40 of the last 45.  
• In both matches against the Lions, the Ramblers held them .200 hitting or below and limited Lindenwood to just two total blocks across the six sets. Loyola had its second-best hitting percentage of the season (.516) in the opening match against Lindenwood (March 27), behind its season-best .524 against Purdue Fort Wayne (March 14). 
• Dating back to the CSUN match (March 22), Loyola is 6-4 in five-set matches over the last two seasons and 11-7 over the last 3 seasons.  
• The Ramblers lead the MIVA in 10 categories: points (17.44/set), hitting percentage (.361), assists (12.24/set), kills (13.04/set), service aces (1.80/set), blocks (2.60/set) opponent hitting percentage (.215), opponent assists (10.27/set), opponent kills (10.76/set) and opponent service aces (1.01/set).    
• Individually in the league, Parker Van Buren is No. 1 in kills/set (4.25), service aces/set (0.48) and points/set (5.10) while Ryan McElligott is the MIVA leader in assists/set (10.71) and Nicodemus Meyer ranks first in blocks/set (1.30).   
• Nationally as a unit, Loyola ranks third in assists/set, third in blocks/set, fifth in kills/set, fifth in hitting percentage and seventh in aces/set. Meyer is the current No. 1 in the nation in blocks/set while McElligott ranks fourth in assists/set and Van Buren is fifth in kills/set and ninth in hitting percentage.  
• Head coach Shane Davis remains the winningest coach in program history with a 283-90 ledger and a .759 winning percentage.        

SCOUTING REPORT 
The Royals are currently 10-15 overall and 2-10 in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) play. Queens' two conference victories came in a 3-0 sweep over Quincy (Feb. 5) then a 3-1 win at Purdue Fort Wayne (Feb. 13). Most recently, the Royals battled then-No. 15 Lewis in a five-set loss in Romeoville, Ill.  

Offensively, Queens is led by redshirt freshman Carson Strawbridge with 271 total kills and a 3.15/set average, good for 10th in the league. Strawbridge is also the team leader, and eighth in the league, in service aces with 30 total (0.45/set). Junior setter Cayden Marin instruments the offense behind 643 total assists (9.06/set), ranking him seventh in the MIVA. At the net, middle hitter Nathan Vaupel leads the charge defensively with 79.0 total blocks, including 59 assists and 20 solos, on a 0.98 per set average for fifth in the MIVA. Sophomore outside hitter Chance Shampine anchors the Royals with 153 digs (1.82/set), putting him sixth in the league.  

SERIES HISTORY 
Loyola holds the series advantage with Queens, 4-0. The two programs met for the first time in 2021 in Chicago, and the Ramblers have never dropped a single set to the Royals. This will be the first-ever meeting between Loyola and Queens in Charlotte, N.C.  

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