Loyola Chicago is fresh off its most historic season in program history, following the first ever NCAA Tournament win, but the foundation for current success began 30 years ago when the first conference championship banner was hung.

The 2025 season marks anniversaries for the 1995, 2000, and 2005 conference championships, and the Ramblers will celebrate the legacy of the teams who made current success possible.

In 1995, the Ramblers posted an impressive 27-7 overall record that saw a 10-match win streak to open the season. The Ramblers swept Butler and downed Northern Illinois for the MCC title after a third-place finish in the regular season standings. 

“I will never forget the feeling of actually winning that tournament,” reflected Arian (Adams) Colton. “We were the only team that's ever done it at that point so it was surreal. Winning the championship and coming home to get ready for the tournament was really special. When I see the other teams experience this, I know what it feels like and that is so cool. I feel like I had a piece of getting us to where the program is nowadays.”

Arian’s teammate Missy (Sartorelli) Grevengoed echoed her sentiment on never forgetting the memory of winning a title. 

“Winning the conference tournament at Northern Illinois sticks out to me because that's where my daughter plays now. I always tell her that's the gym we won in. Remembering the championship and sitting with my teammates waiting for the bracket to come out will always be great memories.”

In addition to the championship, both Arian and Missy are cemented in the record book. Arian brought home MCC Player of the Year honors that season, while Missy still holds the all-time kills record with 1,882. Arian is just behind her in the standings with 1,706.

“When I see the people I played with or walk back on campus, it all just comes flashing back,” continued Arian. “It was all really special because we were really celebrated. It’s so fun to see the evolution of the game, but the school and athletic department, too. Loyola does such a nice job of celebrating what we were and how they got to where they are now. No one ever takes it for granted.”

The success continued with two more conference championships being claimed by the turn of the century. The 2000 squad won both the MCC regular season and tournament titles behind 22-9 overall and 11-1 conference records. A trio of Ramblers earned First Team All-MCC honors, while one was tabbed to the second team. 

Loyola’s first NCAA Tournament set win came via the 2000 team who took Kansas State to four sets. The Ramblers made history with a 15-6 win in set three. Loyola’s NCAA Tournament game-highs in kills (66), assists (60), and blocks (11) still stand from the match vs. Kansas State.

By 2005, Loyola added back-to-back Horizon League championships to its resume with both squads seeing Wisconsin in the first round. On the other side of the history making was current head coach Amanda Berkley and associate head coach Morgan Salow playing for the Badgers.

“When I became head coach here, I obviously knew about the history of Loyola’s program having been on the 2004 and 2005 teams at Wisconsin,” said Berkley. “It’s been fun reminiscing with alums from Loyola and having it come together by celebrating last year’s tournament success with them. It is something they were striving for, and they give me a hard time because I was on the team preventing them from it. Definitely a full circle moment to finally see it happen for us.”

The ’05 team took third in the Horizon League that year with an 8-6 finish, and former Rambler Courtney (Ashley) Levin remembers playing across town at UIC where the Ramblers downed Green Bay, Milwaukee, and Wright State to clinch their NCAA bid.

“Being able to play games in Chicago even though we weren’t at home was special. We had so many people like family, other student-athletes, and people from Loyola who came and watched us. It felt really special that we could win a championship in front of the people who supported us the most.”

Like Arian and Missy, Courtney still remains a prominent part of Loyola’s history, ranking top-10 in career kills, attacks, digs, and aces. 

Married to a former men’s basketball athlete, Tom Levin, Courtney says their experience at Loyola continues to play a huge role in their involvement with the athletic department since graduation.

“We feel so fortunate to Loyola for the opportunities that it gave us after graduation. We want to make sure student-athletes have as wonderful of an experience as we did. It’s nice that we can create this network where we get to help make connections and give opportunities to people whether it’s through athletics while at school or once they’re done at Loyola.”

Loyola feels the same of its alums and can’t wait to welcome the 1995, 2000, and 2005 teams back to Gentile this season on Oct. 11 for Alumni Day and celebrate the legacy and opportunities they gave to the program.

“It means a lot to have our alumni support. It has been cool to have those connections by being former opponents and now being on the same team. It is neat to see how much they care about their time at Loyola and the experience of current student-athletes. Seeing how proud and happy they are about the championship culture we continue to build at Loyola has meant the world to us,” finished Berkley.