CHICAGO - Loyola Chicago faces an undefeated field at the Kiwi Star Classic held in Coralville, Iowa by the Hawkeyes this week. The Ramblers open play against former MVC foe Illinois State before taking on Butler and Iowa.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Thursday, Sept. 4 • vs. Illinois State • 3 p.m. CT • Coralville, Iowa
Friday, Sept. 5 • vs. Butler • 3 p.m. CT • Coralville, Iowa
Saturday, Sept. 6 • at Iowa • 2 p.m. CT • Coralville, Iowa

QUICK HITS
• Loyola opened the 2025 slate last weekend at Western Kentucky. The Ramblers picked up their first win in a five-set battle against Drake before falling in a sweep to WKU. Loyola then dropped  thriller to Wright State after the fifth set went 23-21.
• Leyna Nguyen made a statement in her debut weekend, earning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honors. Nguyen posted three straight double-doubles for the Ramblers, which included a 21 kill outing against WSU.
• Freshman setter Ava Hunter also made an immediate impact. She recorded a double-double in both five set matches over the weekend. Hunter tallied a career-high 54 assists vs. WSU.
• Kaitlyn Burke double-doubled in the opening match with a career-high 18 kills and 10 digs.
• Several Ramblers rank among the top players in the league after the first weekend of play. Nguyen ranks third in kills per set (3.77) and fourth in points per set (4.08), Hunter falls second in assists per set (10.00), Sam Falk lands fifth in aces per set (.69) and digs per set (4.00), Avary DeBlieck ranks seventh in hitting percentage (.328), and Ann Marie Remmes sits eighth in blocks per set (1.23).
• 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 137-79.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Illinois State went 3-0 to open the season last weekend at Western Michigan's tournament. ISU picked up three straight sweeps against DePaul, Western Michigan, and Oakland. The Redbirds were tabbed third in the MVC preseason poll after finishing 17-16 overall and 11-7 in league play last season.

Aida Shadewald and Khenedi Guest were named to the All-MVC preseason team. Shadewald had 29 kills in the opening weekend of play to lead ISU. She recorded a 11 kill, 14 dig double-double vs. Oakland. Guest added 16 kills and a team-leading 14 blocks, including a match-high seven vs. WMU.

Butler remains undefeated after a 3-0 weekend at home. The Bulldogs tallied wins over Evansville and Purdue Fort Wayne before sweeping Middle Tennessee State to cap the invite. Butler was tabbed ninth in the Big East preseason poll. The team went 7-23 overall last season with five of those wins coming in conference play.

Alaleh Tolliver led Butler's attack with 44 kills over the three matches. She had 24 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne and hit over .300 against Evansville with 15 kills. She neared double-digit digs in all three matches. Kaylee Finnegan racked up over 100 assists highlighted by a season-high 54 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne.

Iowa got off to a hot start in Vegas last week, sweeping both UNLV and CSU Bakersfield and taking down Utah Tech in a five-set battle. Iowa was selected 17th in the Big Ten preseason poll ahead of only Rutgers. The Hawkeyes went 10-22 overall last season with a 4-16 record in conference play.

Five Hawkeyes tallied at least 20 kills over the first three matches. Alyssa Worden, Aleksandra Stojanovic, Carmel Vares, and Chard'e Vanzandt had 21 each. Hannah Whittingstall is averaging 2.0 blocks per set after posted 22 total blocks last week. She had a season-high 10 blocks in the win over Utah Tech.

SERIES HISTORY
ISU leads the all-time series, 27-4. Loyola's last win was in 2021 on Nov. 13 (3-1).

Butler leads the all-time series, 32-29. Loyola won the last meeting in January of 2020, 3-2.

Iowa leads the all-time series, 4-1. Loyola's lone win in the series dates back to 1992.