LEADING OFF
No. 9 Loyola Chicago readies for two top 15 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) matches, starting off against No. 12 McKendree on Thursday, April 2 at 7 p.m. before hosting No. 11 Lindenwood for senior night on Saturday, April 4 at 5 p.m.
QUICK HITS
- In their lone match last week, the Ramblers bested the Lewis Flyers 3-1 on the road (March 26). Junior outside Daniel Fabikovic paced Loyola's offense with 11 kills on .450 hitting and redshirt sophomore outside Tyler Howard added 10 kills and a career-high four blocks. Defensively, junior middle Aidan Klein had the match-high six blocks.
- Klein paces the league with a .509 average hitting clip, good for third in the country, and ranks third in the MIVA with 1.01 blocks per set. He's also one of four Ramblers with at least 100 kills.
- Senior libero JJ Sowa averages 2.13 digs per set, placing him third in the conference and 23rd in the NCAA. He posted a career-high 14 digs in the win at Hawai'i earlier this season (Jan. 9).
- As a unit, the Ramblers rank second in the MIVA in hitting percentage (.320) and third in points (16.68/set), assists (11.90/set), kills (12.68/set), blocks (2.33/set) and service aces (1.67/set). Nationally, Loyola is sixth in assists per set and in kills per set, ninth in aces per set and 10th in hitting percentage.
- Head coach Shane Davis marked 300 career wins earlier this season after a sweep against Ball State (March 5).
- Men's volleyball celebrates its 30th anniversary this season after Loyola added the program in 1996. The team is home to two of the university's three national championships and has never had a losing season.
SCOUTING REPORT
McKendree is 15-8 overall and 7-5 in MIVA play. Most recently, the Bearcats swept the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons (March 26) before falling in straight sets to Ball State (March 28). Senior opposite Bryce Wetjen leads McKendree with 275 total kills, averaging 3.31 per set while junior setter Nate Flayter facilitates the offense with 10.22 assists per set, good for third in the league and sixth in the nation. The two-time MIVA Defensive Player of the Week anchors the Bearcats' defense with 180 digs and senior middle Rolen Lively has the team-high 79 stuffs at the net.
In the midst of its most historic season ever, Lindenwood is 18-4 overall, 9-3 in conference action and 6-4 against ranked opponents. The Lions are coming off a five-set victory over the Mastodons (March 28) after being swept by the Cardinals (March 26). Lindenwood is 14th in the NCAA in kills per set (12.4), led by junior outside Luke Kraft who leads the team with 3.1/set. Kraft also ranks second in the country with 40 service aces, and his teammate Zach Solomon paces the nation with 51 aces. The senior setter also leads the league with 10.46 assists per set.
SERIES HISTORY
Loyola leads both series with McKendree and Lindenwood, holding 21-5 and 32-5 advantages, respectively. Earlier this season, the Ramblers fell 3-1 on the Lions' home court (Feb. 4), pushing two sets to extra points, before rebounding with a sweep of the Bearcats (Feb. 6).
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Stream both matches on Marquee Sports Network and ESPN+. Follow men's volleyball on Instagram and X @RamblersMVB for in-game updates.
