A leg up for Loyola
NCAA men: Sixth-ranked Ramblers hold MIVA Tournament's top seed, home-court advantage
The cards continue to fall Loyola’s way as the Ramblers seek a return to the NCAA Tournament in the first season of Shane Davis’ second tenure as coach.
Even being dealt a losing hand in their second-to-last match against archrival Lewis was a momentary speed bump for sixth-ranked Loyola (22-3), which clinched the top seed in the upcoming Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament two nights later with a four-set victory over No. 17 Ball State before a crowd of 1,879 at Gentile Arena.
The Ramblers and 12th-ranked McKendree (19-7) shared the league’s regular-season league title but Loyola took the No. 1 seed — and home-court advantage — based on the head-to-head tiebreaker of sets taken in their matches. Loyola won at home over McKendree in a sweep and lost to the Bearcats on the road in five. It was Loyola’s eighth regular-season MIVA crown and McKendree’s first.
So count one significant mission accomplished as the Ramblers shoot for a berth in the NCAA Tournament, which hasn’t happened since they made back-to-back-to-back appearances in 2013, '14 and '15 during Davis’s first turn at the helm. Shane left to coach the Northwestern women’s program after the second of Loyola’s consecutive NCAA titles in 2015.
The Ramblers’ most direct option to the eight-team NCAA bracket is by winning the MIVA Tournament and its automatic bid. That hasn’t happened since 2015. Under Coach Mike Hulse’s watch, Loyola fell in MIVA title matches to Lewis twice (2019 and 2021) and Ohio State (2018).
Being named as one of the two at-large teams by the NCAA selection committee remains a possibility — albeit not a very strong one — for the Ramblers, who are No. 5 in the latest NCAA RPI (with McKendree sixth).
During the victory over Ball State (17-12, 9-6 MIVA), returning first-team AVCA All-American Parker Van Buren put an exclamation point on the regular season with 22 kills, an ace, a block an six digs. Seemingly a shoo-in to repeat as MIVA Player of the Year, the 6-foot-9 Van Buren ranks third nationally in kills per set (4.34), 10th in hitting percentage (.410) and 18th in aces per set (0.435).
Sophomore outside hitter Daniel Fabokovic contributed 13 kills, an ace, three blocks and seven digs. Middle blocker Deem Meyer, a 6-foot-10 senior, chipped in six kills and five blocks (two solo). Myer is No. 1 in the nation with 1.250 blocks per set. Loyola honored players from the 2014 and '15 NCAA champions as part of its Senior Night celebration.
“I can speak as an alum and I’m incredibly proud of the group and proud of the program,” Davis told the media after the match. “We had so many alums in the stands and the teams that we were able to honor tonight.
“The sustainability of that success over a long period of time just shows the support of Loyola with the program, and a testament to the guys and the culture that they’ve created year after year after year.”
The Ramblers will open the MIVA Tournament against eighth-seeded Queens (8-19, 2-14 MIVA), which claimed the tiebreaker over Quincy, on Saturday night at Gentile Arena (6 p.m. Central). Tickets have gone on sale, priced $10 for adults, $7 for kids (4-14) and free for undergrad students from either school. Tickets also can be purchased at the door on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the 14th-ranked Lewis Flyers (21-8, 11-5 MIVA) finished their season with that momentum-building home-court sweep over Loyola, in which they hit at an eye-popping .506 efficiency and outblocked the Ramblers 9-2.
Lewis was seeded fourth after losing the head-to-head tiebreaker with 15th-ranked Ohio State and will host Ball State at Neil Carey Arena in Romeoville on Saturday at 7 p.m.
McKendree will entertain Purdue Fort Wayne (11-14, 4-12) on Saturday (6 p.m. Central) in Lebanon, Illinois. Also, Ohio State (16-10 11—5), which closed out the regular season with five consecutive victories, will welcome Lindenwood (10-14, 7-9).
The MIVA semifinals will be on April 23, next Wednesday, hosted by the two highest remaining seeds. The final is the following Saturday, April 26, at the site of the higher remaining seed.
D-III men’s nationals start this week
Aurora (26-4), ranked 10th and the champion of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference, will play in the NCAA Division-III men’s indoor tournament, facing sectional host Carthage (22-3), ranked sixth and the winner of the automatic berth out of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, on Friday in in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Fourth-ranked Springfield (22-4) and No. 20 Mount Union (20-8) also are in the Carthage pod. No. 3 Stevens (25-4), coached by Dan Buehring of Naperville, will host a five-team section. The bracket pictured below has a lot more details.
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