Loyola Chicago Readies for NCAA Quarterfinals

LEADING OFF 
For the first time since 2015, No. 7 Loyola Chicago (25-3, 13-3 MIVA) is in the NCAA Tournament, and at the No. 4 seed the Ramblers take on the fifth-seeded No. 6 Pepperdine Wave in the quarterfinals on Thursday, May 8 at 6:30 p.m. CT. 

QUICK HITS

• Four Ramblers earned American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American status, announced by the league’s office on Monday, May 5. For the second consectuive year, Parker Van Buren earned First Team AVCA All-American, Nicodemus Meyer and Daniel Fabikovic were named to the AVCA All-American Second Team, marking the senior’s first second team nod and the second straight for the sophomore. Ryan McElligott was awarded an AVCA All-American Honorable Mention for the first time in his career. 
• Loyola Chicago earned its first NCAA Tournament berth in 10 years after downing Ohio State, 3-0, to clinch the Ramblers’ fourth overall Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament Championship on Saturday, April 26 inside Gentile Arena. Loyola had been chasing the conference tournament title and an NCAA tournament bid since 2015. 
• The Ramblers swept the MIVA Tournament, winning nine straight sets to secure the championship, which marked the first time since 2022 that a MIVA team (Balll State) won the championship in three three-set matches. MIVA Player of the Year and All-Conference First Teamer Van Buren was named the tournament’s MVP while Fabikovic and McElligott, both All-MIVA First Team honorees as well, were named to the All-MIVA Tournament team. 
• Van Buren became just the second player in program history to be named back-to-back MIVA POTY (Thomas Jaeschke, ’14, ’15), and the third to claim four All-MIVA First Team roster spots. With Meyer, McElligott and Fabikovic also All-MIVA First Teamers, it marks the first time four Ramblers made all-conference first team since 2018 and fourth overall in program history. 
• Nationally, McElligott leads the country in assists/set (10.90), Meyer ranks second in blocks/set (1.23) and Van Buren is second in kills/set (4.42), fourth in points/set (5.25) and ninth in hitting percentage (.410). 
• As a unit, the Ramblers lead the country in kills/set (13.35) and in assists/set (12.50), and rank second in hitting percentage (.368), third in blocks/set (2.57) and fifth in aces/set (1.82). 
• Loyola finished as the league leader in 10 different categories: points/set (17.74), hitting percentage, assists, kills, blocks (2.57/set), service aces, opponent hitting percentage (.220), opponent assists (10.26/set), opponent kills (10.74/set) and opponent service aces (0.93). 
• Head coach Shane Davis remains the winningest coach in program history with a 289-91 ledger and a .761 winning percentage. 

SCOUTING REPORT
Pepperdine (20-9, 7-5 MPSF) came in as the fourth seed in the MPSF Tournament, and The Wave swept Grand Canyon (3-0) in the quarterfinals before upsetting reigning NCAA champion UCLA (3-2) in the semis then taking down USC (3-1) to clinch the program’s seventh overall conference tournament title and an automatic NCAA Tournament bid. As a unit, Pepperdine ranks eighth in hitting percentage (.328), 12th in assists/set (11.68) and 16th in kills/set (12.41). 

Junior outside hitter Ryan Barnett was named the tournament MVP, notching 23 kills on .333 hitting, 11 digs and 22 perfect service receptions in the championship match. Junior libero Jacob Reilly and rookie outside hitter Cole Hartke were awarded All-Tournament Team nods. Earlier this awards season, Hartke was named the MPSF Freshman of the Year and was the only first-year named to the All-MPSF First Team. Barnett, Reilly and Gabe Dyer were awarded first-team, second-team and honorable mention respectively. 

SERIES HISTORY
Earlier this spring, Loyola defeated Pepperdine in a five-set thriller (25-15, 25-23, 19-25, 29-31, 15-12) on the road. Multiple Ramblers marked season and career highs against The Wave, including McElligott’s 59 assists and four service aces. Loyola holds a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series. It will be the first ever meeting between the two programs in the NCAA Tournament. 

FOLLOW THE ACTION

Stream the quarterfinals match on ESPN and follow men’s volleyball on Instagram and X @RamblersMVB for in-game updates.