CHICAGO (March 21, 2018) - Fresh off a convincing victory over No. 8 Lewis to wrap up a three-game road trip, No. 6 Loyola returns home for the final time during the 2018 regular season at the end of the week as it plays host to No. 11 Ball State on Thursday before a Saturday tilt with No. 15 Fort Wayne. Prior to Saturday's clash with the Mastodons, Loyola will honor its graduating senior class of Ricky Gevis, Ryan Jamison, Jeff Jendryk and Jake Selsky.  Together, the quartet has helped account for 81 victories over three-plus seasons, a stretch that was highlighted by capturing the 2015 NCAA championship. Loyola owns an impressive 15-2 mark over its last 17 matches, with both of those defeats coming away from the friendly confines of Gentile Arena.  The Ramblers have been a formidable foe at home this season, going 13-1 in Rogers Park. Loyola has posted an impressive 9-3 record over nationally ranked teams, easily topping its win total against Top 15 from a year ago (5).
 
Scouting Ball State
Ball State finds itself sitting at 13-9 overall and 6-2 in MIVA play entering the weekend, sitting just a game back of the Ramblers in the league standings.  The Cardinals, who are coming off a weekend sweep of Fort Wayne, handed Loyola their only conference loss to date back on February 17 when they picked up a 34-32, 20-25, 25-23, 25-21 victory over the Maroon & Gold at Worthen Arena. 
 
The trio of Matt Szews (2.86 k/s), Blake Reardon (2.74 k/s) and Matt Walsh (2.42 k/s) paces the attack for a Ball State team that is 8-2 over its last 10 games.  Walsh, who leads all MIVA competitors in blocks per set (1.19), was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Week on Monday after registering 15 blocks and 18 kills in a pair of victories. 
 
Thursday's matchup will mark the 54th meeting between Loyola and Ball State.  The Cardinals have prevailed in each of the last three meetings, all of which have come in Muncie.  Loyola owns a commanding 20-3 all-time mark against Ball State in Chicago, having prevailed in each of the last 17 meetings in the Windy City.
 
Scouting Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne dropped a pair of decisions to Ball State last weekend, which saw its record slip to 15-7 overall and 3-5 in MIVA action.  The Mastodons gave Loyola all it could handle when the two teams met on February 16, erasing a 2-0 deficit before ultimately falling to the Ramblers by a final count of 25-27, 19-25, 25-23, 25-18, 12-15. 
 
Pelegrin Vargas averages a team-high 3.74 kills per set to lead Fort Wayne. Vargas, who has tallied a MIVA-high 303 kills, enters the weekend ranked second in the conference in kills per set.   Richie Diedrich (0.94 blk/set) and Tomas Gago (0.93 blk/set) form a strong combination on the defensive side of the net, as both members of the duo rank just outside the top five in the league in blocks per set.
 
Loyola and Fort Wayne will meet for the 53rd time on Saturday evening.  The Ramblers have dominated the series of late, racking up 11 straight wins over the Mastodons.  Fort Wayne will be in search of its first victory against the Ramblers since a 25-22, 12-25, 25-16, 27-29, 15-11 triumph on February 20, 2013. 
 
Up Next
Loyola Ohio State (March 29) and McKendree (March 31) next week.