LEADING OFF 
No. 8 Loyola Chicago hosts Northern Kentucky on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. before welcoming No. 13 Ohio State on Sunday, March 1 at 2 p.m. The pair of Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) matches kicks off a six-match homestand for the Ramblers.  

QUICK HITS

• Freshman middle Oskar Berg Mikkelsen posted a career-high five blocks against Lewis (Feb. 12) and a career-best six kills against Rockhurst (Feb. 14) on .857 hitting. 
• Setter Alex Smits Van Oyen ranks first in the MIVA and second in the NCAA with 11.21 assists per set, while senior libero JJ Sowa paces the conference in digs (2.41/set), placing him 7th in the country.   
• Junior middle Aidan Klein leads the league with a .545 average hitting clip and ranks fourth in blocks/set (1.02).  
• Head coach Shane Davis is in his 14th year at Loyola, sporting a 297-96 (.756) career record. Last season, the Ramblers alum led his team to a 25-4 ledger, their fourth MIVA Tournament title and fourth NCAA Tournament berth.    
• 2026 marks the 30th anniversary of Loyola's men's volleyball program, which is home to two of the university's three NCAA national championship titles.     

SCOUTING REPORT 
Northern Kentucky is off to a 3-8 start this season and has yet to win a MIVA match. Junior outside hitter Griffin Wheatley leads the Norses on the attack, averaging 3.15 points per set and 2.71 kills per set. Redshirt sophomore setter and opposite Will McElveen facilitates Northern Kentucky's offense with 4.39 assists per set while contributing a set average of 1.74 kills. Defensively, the Norses are led by sophomore middle Adam Blair and the rookie blocker Ryan Peterson, who both average .78 blocks per set.  

Ohio State has been a Top 20 team all season and are currently 9-4 overall and 4-1 in league play. The Buckeyes secured their first MIVA win over the Norses, then split their series with the Queens Royals before back-to-back sweeps over Ball State and Purdue Fort Wayne. Senior Shane Wetzel paces Ohio State with 3.77 kills per set on, placing him second in the conference and 13th in the country. Meanwhile, junior middle Eliel Salva-Torres leads the team with a .525 hitting clip and 1.17 blocks per set. The transfer from Lincoln Memorial earned MIVA Player of the Week and the American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Week after totaling 19 kills on .905 hitting and combining for 12 blocks against the Cardinals and Mastodons. Ohio State battles Lewis Thursday night before traveling to Loyola.  

SERIES HISTORY 
Thursday's match marks the first meeting ever between Loyola and Northern Kentucky, who added a men's volleyball as a varsity sport this season. 

Ohio State holds the all-time series record with Loyola, 42-31, in a matchup that dates to the Ramblers' program inception in 1996. Last season, the Ramblers bested the Buckeyes both at home and on the road in the regular season before sweeping them in the MIVA Tournament championship.  

FOLLOW THE ACTION 
Stream both matches on Marquee Sports Network and ESPN+. Follow men's volleyball on Instagram and X @RamblersMVB for in-game updates.