Men’s Volleyball Opens MIVA Play Against McKendree and No. 14 Ohio State

LEADING OFF 

No. 7 Loyola Chicago (8-0, 0-0 MIVA) kicks off its Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association slate against McKendree (3-4, 0-0 MIVA) on Thursday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. inside Gentile Arena before hitting the road to No. 14 Ohio State (3-5, 0-0 MIVA) on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 6 p.m. CT.  

QUICK HITS 

• The Ramblers remain the only undefeated MIVA team after securing its first two road victories over No. 10 Pepperdine (Jan. 30) and then-No. 15 UC San Diego (Feb. 1). Loyola defeated both teams, 3-2, in five-set thrillers; the Ramblers hit .438 against the Wave, holding them to .262 then hitting .313 versus the Tritons and held them to .230.  
• Redshirt senior outside hitter Parker Van Buren was named the MIVA Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday, Feb. 4, for the second time this season, and the 13th weekly league honor of his career, after lifting Loyola to two ranked road wins over Pepperdine and UCSD. Against the Wave and Tritons, Van Buren combined for 36 kills on 72 swings, 16 digs, eight blocks and five service aces.  
• In the conference statistics, Loyola leads the league in five categories: points/set (17.11), hitting percentage (.371), opponent assists (9.55), opponent kills (9.87) and service aces/set (2.19). Nationally, the Ramblers rank third in aces/set (2.19), fourth in hitting percentage (.371) and 13th in kills/set (12.52).  
• Individually, Van Buren is the league leader in services aces/set (0.71) and in points/set (4.79) meanwhile Ryan McElligott ranks third in the MIVA in assists/set (10.32) and Nicodemus Meyer ranks third in blocks/set (1.13), followed by Brad Bell at No. 9 (0.90) and Van Buren at No. 17 (0.71).  
• Loyola’s 8-0 start to the season is its best since the team went 14-0 in 2015. Head coach Shane Davis remains the winningest coach in program history with an overall 272-88 (0.756) record.  

SCOUTING REPORT 

The Bearcats are 3-4 overall on the season after opening against a tough ranked slate; they fell to No. 4 Hawaii in back-to-back matches, winning one set overall, then were swept at then-No. 18 UCSD. McKendree collected its first win over Rockhurst after five sets before falling again to then-No. 2 Long Beach in straight sets. The Bearcats are currently on a 2-0 run after adding wins against University of Charleston and Maryville.  

Offensively, McKendree is led by senior outside hitter Kevin Schuele with 72 kills, averaging 3.0 per set, and instrumented by sophomore setter Nate Flyer who has 235 assists and counting (9.79/set) to rank him fifth in the league in assists/set. Meanwhile senior middle blocker D’Aaron McCraney leads the league in hitting percentage (.519) and ranks fifth in blocks/set (1.08). As a unit, McKendree ranks third in the MIVA in assists (11.54/set) and in digs (9.42/set). 

The Buckeyes are currently 3-5 so far after falling to top-ranked BYU in back-to-back matches to open their season. Ohio State collected its first two wins against Fort Valley State before being swept by then-No. 11 Stanford in the First Point Collegiate Challenge. Then in the same tournament, the Buckeyes stunned the then-No. 1 Bruins in a 3-1 victory. Most recently, Ohio State fell, 1-3, to then-No. 6 Southern California and to No. 3 UCLA.  

Ohio State is led offensively by junior opposite Shane Wetzel with 89 kills and freshman setter Daniel Henwood Rodriguez with 184 assists. Wetzel adds 12 service aces on the season alongside freshman outside hitter Stanislaw Chacinski. Defensively, the Buckeyes are anchored by Wetzel, averaging 1.31 digs/set, and at the net by grad student middle blocker Thomas Leahey with 24 total blocks (0.86/set). As a team, OSU is ranked first in opponent digs (6.93/set) and third in opponent kills (11.14).  

SERIES HISTORY 

Loyola leads the all-time series history with McKendree, 19-4, since the two programs first met in February 2014. In the first round of the 2024 MIVA tournament, Loyola defeated McKendree in straight sets (April 13, 2024). Last season, the Ramblers swept the Bearcats at home (March 16, 2024) before falling with the same result just one week later on March 23. The Ramblers were undefeated against the Bearcats through the first 15 meetings, only dropping six sets. McKendree defeated Loyola for the first time ever in 2022. 

Ohio State holds the series advantage, 27-20, with Loyola. In last year’s MIVA Tournament semifinals, the Buckeyes knocked out the Ramblers, 3-1. Prior to, Loyola defeated Ohio State in the 2024 regular season both at home and on the road in five-set thrillers. The Ramblers won the first meeting ever between the programs back in 2005 and since then it’s been a back-and-forth battle of wins and losses.  

 

FOLLOW THE ACTION 

Stream the McKendree match on Marquee Sports Network and ESPN+ and find the Ohio State match on B1G+. Follow men’s volleyball on Instagram and X @RamblersMVB for in-game updates.