CHICAGO – No. 6 Loyola Chicago (25-3, 13-3 MIVA) swept No. 15 Ohio State, 3-0, to clinch the 2025 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament Championship on Saturday, April 26 inside Gentile Arena. In front of a roaring crowd of over 1,400 fans, the Ramblers earned their fourth overall MIVA Tournament Title and the first since 2015. 

"It's a full circle moment coming back and be able to be part of this group. I'm just so happy that we're able to provide an opportunity for these guys, and how hard they worked every single day, to get the opportunity to play on their home floor in the MIVA tournament, to be able to control the MIVA tournament in the way that they did," said head coach Shane Davis. "Winning nine sets straight is not easy, especially in our conference, and how good our teams and how great the coaches are. I'm incredibly excited about the next opportunity for this group. And, I don't know, maybe you should ask them maybe how they're feeling, but I'm feeling pretty good and excited about the next match."

How It Happened  
Set One: The Ramblers came out firing in the opening set, powered behind a deep blocking presence and undefendable attacks to hold the Buckeyes to just 10 points. All-MIVA First Teamer Nicodemus Meyer hammered one down for a back corner kill to open the scoring in set one. Meyer and Ryan McElligott, another all-conference first teamer, jumped for the first block of the frame to push Loyola ahead, 4-1. McElligott and Brad Bell added two more block assists to extend the lead even more. After an Ohio State timeout, a long rally ensued and was kept alive by McElligott then picked up by the MIVA Player of the Year Parker Van Buren who assisted Daniel Fabikovic, another All-MIVA First Teamer, for the 14-7 lead and from there Loyola ran away with it. McElligott recorded an ace, quickly followed by a solo block from Read. The Buckeyes tried to close the gap but could not withstand the Ramblers' dominance. Van Buren served back-to-back aces for set point and McElligott and Bell clinched it, 25-10, on another roof.  

Set Two: The Ramblers did not let up in the second frame and maintained a strong serving performance. Set two saw more long rallies kept in play thanks to smart setting and diving digs. Read opened the scoring on another strike and later JJ Sowa laid one out to McElligott for a dump set kill and a 5-3 lead. Bell recorded his first ace of the evening and one Loyola point later Ohio State called a timeout. A triple block by Van Buren, Read and Meyer cushioned the Ramblers' lead, 12-6. The Buckeyes attempted to inch in on the deficit but to no avail. Loyola kept tacking on kills from Fabikovic, Read, Meyer and Van Buren to eventually have a 21-14 lead. Both sides traded errors to put the Ramblers back at set point and Loyola took the frame 25-17 thanks to a Buckeyes' service error.  

Set Three: In the third and final frame, Ohio State took the first point but that didn't phase Loyola who capitalized on its 2-0 advantage. Read dove to keep the ball in play and Bell struck it down for the 3-3 tie, shortly after the junior middle blocker capped a long rally to knot the score again. The Ramblers took back their lead thanks to a kill from Fabikovic and Van Buren found the back corner for the 8-6 lead. Bell and Read jumped for a block then Van Buren hammered down a kill to keep the lead rolling. A triple block by Read, Van Buren and Meyer put the Ramblers within sight of the title. Van Buren kept another long rally going after setting a ball from the floor which Read nailed down for a 23-18 cushion. An Ohio State service error put Loyola at match point, but the Buckeyes staved it off. With the entire arena on their feet, Van Buren, in routine fashion, clinched the title for the Ramblers, 25-21. 

Inside the Box Score 

• Loyola hit .487 as a unit and held Ohio State to just a .122 clip. 
• The Ramblers out blocked the Buckeyes 12-2, with Bell and Read leading the charge on five block assists apiece. 
• As a team, Loyola limited its attacking errors to just three total. 
• Van Buren, McElligott and Fabikovic were named to the All-MIVA Tournament Team and Van Buren was named the MVP. 
• The victory marks the first time since 2022 that a team won the title after three three-set matches. 

Up Next  
Loyola earned the MIVA's automatic qualifying bid to the 2025 NCAA Tournament in Columbus, Ohio on May 8-12. The Ramblers will find out their seed tomorrow during the NCAA Selection Show at 3 p.m. CT. Stream the selection show on NCAA.com.