LEADING OFF
No. 2-seeded Loyola Chicago hosts 7-seeded Purdue Fort Wayne in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday, April 18 at 6 p.m.
QUICK HITS
- The Ramblers currently rank 10th in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll and are sixth in the Division I Men's Volleyball RPI Rankings.
- Five Ramblers earned All-MIVA accolades; Graduate student Josh Schellinger and juniors Daniel Fabikovic and Aidan Klein earned First Team honors while senior Ryan McElligott and freshman Oskar Berg Mikkelsen were named to the Second Team. Fabikovic made his third straight appearance on the First Team and Klein marked the first all-conference selection of his career.
- In Loyola's last win of the regular season at Purdue Fort Wayne (April 9), redshirt junior Bryce Robbins recorded a career-high 12 kills on .786 hitting. He added three digs and one service ace, both season highs.
- As a unit, the Ramblers rank second in the MIVA in hitting percentage (.323) and points (16.54/set), third in kills (12.6/set) and blocks (2.28/set), fourth in assists (11.86/set) and fifth in service aces (1.66/set). Nationally, Loyola is seventh in assists and kills per set, and 10th in aces per set and hitting percentage.
- Klein paces the MIVA with a .515 hitting clip and ranks third in blocks (1.04/set). He's also top 25 in service aces (15th), points (20th) and kills (24th). Klein leads Loyola at the net with 86.0 total blocks and from the service line with 25 aces.
- Senior libero JJ Sowa averages 1.92 digs per set, placing him fifth in the conference and 36th in the NCAA. He posted a career-high 14 digs in the win at Hawai'i earlier this season (Jan. 9).
- 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
The Mastodons finished the regular season 12-11 overall and 7-9 in league play. As a unit, Purdue Fort Wayne rank second in the MIVA in opponent kills (10.94/set) and assists (10.34/set), fifth in blocks (2.09/set), sixth in assists (11.09/set), and seventh in points (15.26/set), hitting percentage (.274), kills (11.81/set), aces (1.35/set) and digs (7.63/set). Junior opposite Logan Muir is the Mastodons' sole All-MIVA selection, making a back-to-back appearance on the Second Team. Muir is No. 2 in the MIVA in kills/set (3.62) and points/set (4.51), third in aces/set (.51) and 10th in hitting percentage (.292).
SERIES HISTORY
Loyola holds the all-time series advantage 46-25 with Purdue Fort Wayne. The two teams split the regular season series, trading 3-1 wins. The Mastodons upset the Ramblers inside Gentile Arena (March 7) before Loyola defeated Purdue Fort Wayne on the road in the penultimate match of the regular season (April 9). Last time the Ramblers met the Mastodons in the MIVA Tournament, was in the 2022 semifinals where Purdue Fort Wayne downed Loyola 3-0 in Chicago.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Stream the match on Marquee Sports Network and ESPN+. Follow men's volleyball on Instagram and X @RamblersMVB for in-game updates.
