35-Match Winning Streak on the Line Thursday

[JCT]

Loyola's 35 match winning streak will be on the line when they visit #9 IPFW (9-2) for an MIVA clash on Thursday night at 6 p.m. #1 Loyola hasn't lost a match since early January 2014, and the defending National Champions have won their last 15 straight road matches dating back to April 2013.

Meanwhile, IPFW has climbed to #9 in the AVCA rankings with wins at #15 Ball State, at #13 Harvard, and a neutral court victory over #14 Cal State Northridge. Their only two losses on the season have been to #11 UCLA and at #8 UC Santa Barbara, and they stand at 3-0 in MIVA play.

This is an emotional season for IPFW, as legendary Hall of Fame coach Arnie Ball is going to retire after this season, his 34th at IPFW. Ball was also the school's Athletic Director from 1988-1995. His son Lloy, who played for him at IPFW, is one of the most storied American men's volleyball players of the past two decades, participating in four Olympics and winning a gold medal in 2008.

The match can be watched live on streaming video here: http://www.gomastodons.com/watch/?Live=280

[vuster4]

Just finished watching the match. It was a relatively easy win for Loyola in 3 (25-19, 25-11, 25-20). IPFW just was not a match for Loyola's passing and quick offense. The IPFW assistant was interviewed after the match and he reiterated his claim from a year ago that Loyola is the real deal. His reasons are that Loyola executes serving, passing, and offensive transitioning very consistently.

Nick Olsen did not play as has been the case a few times this year. I jut hope that it is a coach's decision. Owen McAndrews started as one of the middles. Freshman Right Side Ben Plaisted had a nice match with 9 kills.

IPFW is no slouch of a team. They became competitive again last season after a mediocre stretch from 2008 thru 2013 after being the National Runner-up in 2007.

[galena rambler]

I was pleased to see the 3-0 win. I was expecting a closer match. The young men appear to be playing very well together even without Nick Olson. Ball State is next.

[lusuperfan]

3-0 is a really impressive outing.

[ahunte1]

Impressive win. I saw one observer tweeted that Loyola is the best team he has seen in 20 years.