LEADING OFF 
In its second straight Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) Tournament Championship match appearance, No. 2-seeded Loyola Chicago takes on the top-seeded Ball State on Saturday, April 25 at 5 p.m. CT in Muncie, Ind. 

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.    
• Three Ramblers recorded double-digit kills in Loyola's 3-0 semifinals victory over Lewis (April 22): Aleksandar Sosa (17), Josh Schellinger (10) and Daniel Fabikovic (10). Fabikovic set a career-high 10 digs to anchor the defense.  
• Five Ramblers earned All-MIVA accolades; Schellinger, 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.    
• Klein paces the MIVA with a .539 hitting clip and ranks third in blocks (1.04/set). He's also top 25 in service aces (15th), points (18th) and kills (22nd). Klein leads Loyola at the net with 94.0 total blocks, good for 14th in the country, and from the service line with 26 aces.    
• As a unit, the Ramblers rank second in the MIVA in hitting percentage (.329), points (16.72/set), kills (12.8/set) and assists (12.04/set), and are third in blocks (2.28/set) and fifth in service aces (1.63/set). Nationally, Loyola is fifth in assists and kills per set, ninth in hitting percentage and 11th in aces per set.  
• 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 
Ball State won the outright MIVA Regular Season Championship after downing Loyola in the final match of the regular season (April 11) to finish 13-3 in league play. The Cardinals are currently 24-4 overall and No. 7 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national rankings. Ball State tops the MIVA in four categories: points (17.59/set), hitting percentage (.384), assists (12.34) and kills (13.52/set). The team ranks second in blocks (2.41/set) and service aces (1.67). Nationally, the Cardinals are second in hitting percentage, third in assists and kills per set and seventh in blocks per set.  

Senior outside hitter Patrick Rogers was named the MIVA Player of the Year and was joined by junior setter Lucas Machado on the All-MIVA First Team. Sophomore opposite Ryan Louis tabbed Second Team honors.  

SERIES HISTORY 
The Ramblers hold the all-time series advantage 43-27 with the Cardinals. The two teams traded sweeps in the regular season. Last time Loyola and Ball State met in the MIVA Tournament was in 2018 when the Ramblers defeated the Cardinals 3-1 to advance to the championship match. Saturday's championship match features Loyola and Ball State for the first time since 2002.  

FOLLOW THE ACTION  
Stream the championship match on ESPN+. Follow men's volleyball on Instagram and X @RamblersMVB for in-game updates.