CHICAGO - Loyola Chicago makes its return to Gentile Arena this week and plays host to Stephen F. Austin, Indiana, and Bowling Green. The six-match tournament starts Thursday and a pair of matches will be played each day through Saturday. The Ramblers and Ladyjacks are scheduled for Loyola's home opener Thursday at 6 p.m. for the annual Gentile Jamboree.

SCHEDULE
Thursday, Sept. 11 • vs. Stephen F. Austin • 6 p.m. • Gentile Arena • Gentile Jamboree - Hat Giveaway
Friday, Sept. 12 • vs. Indiana • 5 p.m. • Gentile Arena
Saturday, Sept. 13 • vs. Bowling Green • 2 p.m. • Gentile Arena

QUICK HITS
• Loyola picked up a five set win at Illinois State to start last weekend's action, improving to 2-4 on the year. The Ramblers came from behind and pulled off the reverse sweep over the Redbirds.
• Loyola dealt 13 aces in the win. Sam Falk had a season-high four, while Jose Halbleib and Ann Marie Remmes tallied three each.
• Leyna Nguyen tallied her fourth consecutive double-double in the match, finishing with 10 kills and 10 digs. Halbleib also recorded a double-double with 15 kills and 23 assists. She was one dig short of a triple-double with nine digs.
• Last week, Nguyen was tabbed the A-10 Rookie of the Week, following three double-doubles on opening weekend. She averaged 3.77 kps and 2.69 dps.
• In the NCAA ranks, Falk is making a name for herself. The sophomore libero is 17th in the country with 15 aces this season. She also ranks 37th in total digs (106) and 63rd in digs per set (4.42).
• The Ramblers have been strong at the net, ranking second in the league and 32nd in the country with 57 total blocks.
• Remmes ranks second in the A-10 with 30 total blocks, which also ranks 29th in the country.
• The Ramblers were tabbed third in the A-10 Preseason Poll ahead of 2025 play starting. Loyola is coming off a historic postseason run last season.
• Loyola claimed its second A-10 title after sweeping No. 18 Dayton. The Flyers hadn't lost to an A-10 team since the Ramblers won the 2022 championship, 3-1. It was also the first time Dayton has been swept since Sept. 30, 2022.
• The Ramblers carried their momentum to the NCAA tournament where they won their first ever NCAA tournament game with a sweep over No. 24 BYU. Loyola's historic run came to a close in the second round vs. No. 9 Purdue.
• Head coach Amanda Berkley is in her eighth season at the helm. Her overall record with the Ramblers is 138-81.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
SFA enters the week at 4-1 after opening the season on a four-match win streak. The Ladyjacks picked up wins over UTSA, Texas State, Louisiana, and Abilene Christian before falling to Sam Houston. The Ladyjacks placed second in the Southland last season with a record of 14-2. SFA was 24-9 overall and earned a trip to the NIVC.

Ilana de Assis and Katherine Holtman lead the Ladyjacks with 66 kills each. De Assis had registered at least 10 in each match, including a season-best 16 vs. Louisiana. Holtman is coming off a season-best 18 kills vs. Sam Houston.

Indiana enters the Invite undefeated at 5-0. The Hoosiers swept all three matches at their own Indiana Invitational last week. They held all opponents to under 20 points in all but one set. Indiana was projected 11th in the 18 team preseason poll by the Big Ten. The team went 15-15 last year and 8-12 in conference play.

In the Indiana Invitational, Candela Alonso-Corcelles was named the tournament MVP. She averaged 4.78 kills per set. She had at least 10 kills in all three matches, including 19 in the sweep over Northern Kentucky.  Alonso-Corcelles registered a double-double vs. SEMO with 14 kills and 12 digs.

Bowling Green sits at 2-4 on the year after dropping its last three matches. The Falcons faced three nationally ranked programs last week, taking No. 15 Kansas to four sets and No. 17 Purdue and No. 23 Georgia Tech to five sets. BGSU was tabbed the MAC preseason favorite after making a run in to the NIVC championship match last year.

Lauryn Hovey was named the MAC Player of the Week following her performance against the trio of top-25 teams. She recorded 64 kills with a .338 hitting percentage. She is fifth in the country with 107 total kills this season.

SERIES HISTORY
SFA has the lone win in the series after beating Loyola 3-1 in 2019.

Indiana leads the all-time series, 4-1. The teams met twice in 2016 and split the series.

The all-time series vs. BGSU is tied, 4-4. The Falcons won the last meeting in 2023, 3-2.