rambler report - january 2016

new team, same dreamback-to-back national champions kick off 2016 season

JANUARY 2016

inside:women’s basketball upsets #16 depaul

hulse takes reins of volleyball program

swoopes named hall of fame candidate

The Loyola women’s basketball squad celebrates after upsetting then-No. 16 Depaul 88-75, the program’s first win over its city rival in 21 years. Taylor Johnson scored a game-high 24 points, one of five Ramblers in double figures, while also chipping in eight assists and four steals.

red line upset!

replacement level victory

Head coach Porter Moser celebrates with the Rambler student section after Loyola’s 68-65 victory over Creighton

in December. The win comes nearly three years after Loyola replaced Creighton in the Missouri Valley

Conference after the Bluejays left for the Big East.

Men’s Volleyball PreView

Rambler Report • January 2016 •

After a pair of magical seasons that saw the Ramblers post a combined 57-3 record and collect two NCAA national championships, the 2016 Loyola men’s volleyball campaign figures to be a year of transitions. However, the team’s goal remains unchanged: win the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) and have a chance to compete for a third consecutive national title.

Gone are two of Loyola’s biggest offensive threats from the past two seasons in Thomas Jaeschke and Cody Caldwell. Jaeschke, who signed a professional contract after his junior season, was a two-time All-American and 2015 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Player of the Year, while Caldwell wrapped up his Loyola career as a two-time Honorable Mention All-American. Head coach Mark Hulse also takes the reins of the program after four years as an assistant for the Ramblers.

Despite the losses, the Ramblers still return plenty of talent and experience in addition to welcoming eight newcomers from another highly-touted recruiting class. Senior setter Peter Hutz, a 2015 Second Team All-American, and senior middle Nick Olson, a 2014 Honorable Mention All-American, are both three-year starters. Hutz was named to the preseason All-MIVA team after leading the league in assists per set last season and finishing second in the nation in the category.

Sophomore middle Jeff Jendryk is the reigning AVCA National Newcomer of the Year and was chosen as the MIVA Preseason Player of the Year prior to this season, the third consecutive season a Rambler has received the distinction. Sophomore libero Jake Selsky returns in his starting role, while fellow sophomores Ricky Gevis and Ben Plaisted along with senior Trevor Novotny will be counted on to help replace the production of Jaeschke and Caldwell.

miva preseason pollSchool Points OverallLoyola (5) 74 0-1Ohio State (3) 73 0-1Lewis (1) 68 1-0Ball State 52 0-0Grand Canyon 35 0-0IPFW 31 0-0McKendree 30 0-0Lindenwood 23 0-0Quincy 19 0-0

meet the newcomers#11 Avery Aylsworth 6’0 - Libero - Mountainview, CAOne of Volleyball Magazine’s Fab 50 seniors for the 2015 class, Aylsworth was named an AVCA Second Team High School All-American and was a member of the Pacific Rim Volleyball Academy - one of the top club teams in the country - that won the USAV Junior National Championship in 2015. Aylsworth is also a three-time winner of his conference’s Scholar-Athlete Award.

#7 Baron Hahn 6’8 - Middle Block - Winter Park, FLAn AVCA First Team High School All-American, Hahn helped lead Ocean Bay Volleyball Club to a Gold Medal at the AAU Junior National Championship. Hahn is the all-time leader in season and career kills at Winter Park High School and is the co-founder of the 3 to 5 Days organization, a non-profit formed to provide clean-water sources in Haiti.

New Team, Same Dream for champsramblers enter 2016 with new faces but same goal

Senior Peter Hutz



meet the newcomers#4 Dane Leclair6’4 - Setter - Rochester, NYLeclair was also a Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 senior and earned an AVCA First Team High School All-American selection, while helping lead McQuaid Jesuit to a runner-up state finish. Leclair was selected to the 2015 USA Boys’ Youth National Team and is the recipient of the John Phillip Sousa Award for Musical Excellence.

#5 Colin Mahan6’5 - Outside Hitter - Victor, NYAnother Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selection, Mahan comes to Loyola as the 2015 Greater Rochester Boys Volleyball Player of the Year. Terrific on the bic, Mahan led Victor High School to three state titles and was named the tournament’s MVP twice. Mahan was also selected to the 2015 USA Boys Youth National team.

#10 Markus Melbardis6’4 - Outside Hitter - San Jose, CAA product of the same family tree as former Ramblers Kris and Dainis Berzins, Melbardis was his league’s MVP in 2015 and led Leigh High School to back-to-back state runner-up finishes. Melbardis is also a Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 senior and recipient of the Golden State Seal Merit Diploma.

#22 Cole Murray6’4 - Outside Hitter - Irvine, CAMurray enters Loyola as a junior in terms of eligibility after transferring from Irvine Valley College, where he led his team in kills (205) and aces (24) and was named a First Team All-Pacific Coast Athletic Conference performer.

#23 Paul Narup6’7 - Middle Block - Creve Coeur, MOAn explosive athlete with an incredibly high ceiling, Narup is a Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 senior despite being relatively new to the game. Narup was a Second-Team All-State selection, and was named to the Boys Junior National Championship All-Tournament team in 2015.

#16 Will Tischler6’7 - Outside Hitter - Darien, ILThe only newcomer from the state of Illinois, Tischler helped lead Downers Grove South High School to a 2013 state title. Tischler was named to Volleyball Magazine’s Fab 50 seniors for the 2015 class and to the Boys Junior National Championship All-Tournament team in 2015.

upcoming scheduleJan. 3 – vs. UCSB, L 1-3Jan. 8 – @ BYU, 8 pmJan. 9 – vs. UC Irvine @ BYU, 5:30 pmJan. 14 – vs. Penn State, 7 pmJan. 16 – vs. St. Francis (PA), 7 pmJan. 22 – vs. Erskine, 7 pmJan. 23 – vs. Charleston, 7 pm

avca preseason pollSchool Points 2015 RecordBYU (13) 268 17-10UC Irvine 258 28-5Loyola (6) 236 28-2Long Beach State 213 15-13UCLA 193 13-14Ohio State 182 22-9Hawaii 168 24-7Lewis (1) 158 27-4UCSB 153 18-10Penn State 145 21-10



Mark Hulse, a Loyola assistant for the last four years, has been named the fourth head coach in Loyola men’s volleyball program history after Shane Davis accepted the head women’s volleyball coaching job at Northwestern in late December.

The Evanston native is a 2009 graduate of Pepperdine University,

where he was a key contributor on the Waves’ NCAA runner-up squad in 2009. In addition to his time on the Loyola bench, Hulse has years of coaching experience with USA Volleyball, most recently serving as an assistant coach for the USA Youth A1 National Training Program in 2014.

“Mark has played a large role in the success of our program,” said athletic director Steve Watson. “He is one of the bright minds in the sport of volleyball and I know our program will continue to advance under his leadership.”

Hulse’s accomplishments were recognized at the national level during the 2014 season, as he was named AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year and selected as a recipient of the AVCA Thirty Under 30 award, an honor bestowed upon 30 up-and-coming volleyball coaches under 30 years old at all levels of the game.

“I am both humbled and excited to accept the opportunity to lead this program going forward, and we will all be working to continue the traditions of success that have come to typify Loyola men’s volleyball,” said Hulse. “We hope for nothing but the best for Shane and his family, and he will remain an important part of the community here at

Loyola. Right now, all of our attention is focused on the start of another season with a great group of guys.”

Hulse replaces Davis, who leaves after 12 years as the head coach of the Ramblers. A four-time MIVA Coach of the Year and 2014 AVCA National Coach of the Year, Davis compiled a career record of 265-88 and led the team to consecutive national championships in 2014 and 2015, only the fourth school in the sport’s history to accomplish the feat. Davis was a second-team All-American as Loyola’s setter from 2000-03 and is the program’s all-time leader in career assists.

“It is hard to articulate all that Loyola means to me,” said Davis. “I have been fortunate enough to spend the last 17 years there as both a student-athlete and a coach and have nothing but terrific memories to take with me as I start the next chapter of my coaching career.”

hulse takes reins of programformer assistant becomes fourth head coach in program history

Coach Mark Hulse

Men’s basketball UPdate

ramblers searching for consistencyLoyola kicked the month of December off in a big way by knocking off the Big East’s Creighton, the school it replaced in the Missouri Valley Conference. Although the Ramblers were without the services of senior Montel James, they controlled the game and led by as many as 14 points en route to a 68-65 victory. Junior Milton Doyle was the catalyst for Loyola, filling the stat sheet with 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

The Ramblers haven’t found consistency since however, alternating between two-game winning and losing streaks as they head into tonight’s matchup at Illinois State with a 7-7 overall record. As with most Loyola teams led by head coach Porter Moser, the Ramblers have been stout defensively, allowing only 65.4 points per game, good for the second-best mark in the conference.

Areas that Loyola will seek improvement as it heads into the meat of the conference season will be offensive output and rebounding. The Ramblers are ninth in the league in scoring at just under 65 points per game and are last in the Valley in rebounding margin at -3.9.

Doyle leads the team in scoring (168), assists (53), and is second on the team in rebounds (60). Since missing three games

with a back injury, James is averaging 15.8 points per game and continues to lead the Ramblers on the glass with six boards per contest.

turk enters 1000-point clubSenior Devon Turk poured in 17 points in Loyola’s final non-conference game against Western Illinois and surpassed the 1,000 career points mark in the process. Already Loyola’s leader in three-point field goals made in a career, Turk is the 41st player in the school’s history to eclipse 1,000 career points.

Turk is currently tied with Jim Coleman (1963-66) in the 37th spot with 1,026 career points. Keep an eye out for junior Milton Doyle, who needs just 70 points to join his teammate in the 1,000-point club.

around the mvcOnly 14 teams in the NCAA have recorded 13 or more wins as of last Sunday and two of them reside in the Missouri Valley Conference. Evansville sits at 13-2 after 15 games, hardly a surprise with two of the best players in the conference in seniors DJ Balentine and Egidijus Mockevicius having tremendous seasons. Balentine is second in the league in scoring at 21.5 points per game, while Mockevicius is third in scoring (18.5 ppg) and first in rebounding (14.4 rpg).

The other 13-win squad is a surprise, however. Southern Illinois was picked to finish ninth in the conference but has raced out to a quick start behind the outstanding play of senior Anthony Beane, the MVC’s leading scorer at 21.7 points per game.

The MVC regular season title still runs through two-time defending champion Wichita State, which owns the third-longest home winning streak in the nation at 38.

mvc standingsSchool Conference OverallEvansville 2-0 13-2Southern Illinois 2-0 13-2Wichita State 2-0 8-5Illinois State 2-0 8-7Northern Iowa 1-1 9-6Indiana State 1-1 7-7Loyola 0-2 7-7Drake 0-2 5-9Missouri State 0-2 4-10Bradley 0-2 2-13


Senior Devon Turk

Senior Montel James


woMen’s basketball UPdate

The Loyola Ramblers women’s basketball team has not been one to shy away from tough competition under third-year head coach Sheryl Swoopes. Loyola’s December schedule was daunting with three ranked opponents and perennial Horizon League power Green Bay on the docket.

For only the second time in program history, the Ramblers took down one of those ranked teams when they stunned No. 16 DePaul, 88-75, right before Christmas. The win also gave Loyola its first over the Blue Demons since the 1993-94 season.

Five Ramblers finished with double-figures in the upset, including a game-high 24 points from junior Taylor Johnson and a career-high 21 from sophomore Sam Lambrigtsen. Junior Taylor Manuel flirted with a triple-double in the game, with 12 points to go along with 10 rebounds and eight assists.

The Ramblers have built on the momentum of the big victory with a win over Rice in Texas and a victory against Bradley to start MVC play on the right foot.

johnson named mvc player of the weekJunior Taylor Johnson has been outstanding this season and was rewarded with a Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week honor after her performance against DePaul. To go along with her game-high 24 points, Johnson grabbed seven rebounds and dished out eight assists.

It was the first MVC honor of Johnson’s career. Johnson, who ranks eighth in the conference in scoring at 13.8 points per contest, eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her career after scoring 12 points against Rice. Johnson becomes the 23rd player in program history to reach the plateau.

ready when called uponHead coach Sheryl Swoopes has tinkered with several different rotations to find the right mix this season, utilizing seven different starting lineups in the first 12 games. Eight different Ramblers have earned starting assignments, while junior Taylor Johnson and freshman Dakota Vann are the only two to start all 12 games. Junior Taylor Manuel, who leads the Ramblers in scoring (15.7 ppg) and rebounding (7.2 rpg), has started all but one game this season.

December results (2-4)Dec. 2 – vs. Western Michigan, L 45-68Dec. 6 – @ #19 Michigan State, L 47-67Dec. 13 – vs. #12 Northwestern, L 72-81Dec. 16 – @ Green Bay, L 51-65Dec. 21 – @ #16 DePaul, W 88-75Dec. 28 – @ Rice, W 57-50

January scheduleJan. 3 – @ Bradley, W 67-54Jan. 8 – @ Evansville, 7 pmJan. 10 – @ Southern Illinois, 2 pmJan. 15 – vs. Wichita State, 7 pmJan. 17 – vs. Missouri State, 2 pmJan. 22 – @ Indiana State, 6 pmJan. 24 – @ Illinois State, 2 pmJan. 29 – vs. Northern Iowa, 7 pmJan. 31 – vs. Drake, 2 pm

Freshman Dakota Vann (4)

Junior Taylor Johnson

Ramblers score big upset of depaulloyola working on three-game winning streak


woMen’s basketball UPdate Around the mvcWhile Loyola’s win against No. 16 DePaul was the MVC’s best non-conference victory, the conference put together a few other resume-building wins. Drake had wins over Wisconsin and Iowa State, Northern Iowa picked up a win against Georgia Tech and Missouri State downed both Mississippi and Arkansas.

The Valley’s conference RPI is currently 16th, up two spots from last week. Drake (No. 98), Southern Illinois (No. 102) and Missouri State (No. 103) are the top three in the league in the latest RPI ratings. As a league, the MVC also has the 10th-best strength of schedule.

mvc standingsSchool Conference OverallSouthern Illinois 2-0 9-5Missouri State 2-0 9-5Loyola 1-0 5-7Drake 1-1 8-5Northern Iowa 1-1 6-7Indiana State 1-1 5-8Illinois State 1-1 3-10Bradley 0-1 4-8Wichita State 0-2 3-10Evansville 0-2 1-12

Swoopes named candidate for naismith memorial hall of fameLoyola head women’s basketball coach Sheryl Swoopes has been named to a list of eligible candidates for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2016, it was announced by the organization last month.

Swoopes finds herself on a list of prominent names from the sport, including the likes of Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, Yao Ming and Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo. The Class of 2016 will be officially announced on Monday, April 4th at the Men’s NCAA Final Four in Houston, Texas.

Hailing from Brownfield, Texas, Swoopes enjoyed success on every level as a player prior to entering the coaching ranks in Rogers Park. She was named the Naismith Player of the Year following the 1993 season as she led Texas Tech to a National Championship, highlighted by a record-setting 47-point performance in the Red Raiders’ 84-82 victory over Ohio State in the National Championship game.

After a short stint oversees following her time in Lubbock, Texas, Swoopes led the Houston Comets to four WNBA Championships as she was named the league’s Most Valuable Player on three separate occasions (2000, 2002, 2003). A six-time WNBA All-Star, she averaged 15.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game during a 12-year career. Her 4,875 career points currently rank 12th on the league’s all-time scoring chart.

Swoopes also had the honor of representing her country during her professional playing career as she laid claim to gold medals with Team USA at the 1996 (Atlanta), 2000 (Sydney) and 2004 (Athens) Olympic Games.

Coach Sheryl Swoopes

Rogers earns honor from lincoln academy Loyola softball senior Ashley Rogers is among a group of 41 college students recognized last month for earning a Abraham Lincoln Civic Engagement Award as announced by Illinois Governor, Bruce Rauner. The award, bestowed by The Lincoln Academy, is presented to one senior from each of the state’s four-year, degree-granting colleges and universities, and one student from the community colleges in Illinois for excellence in curricular and extracurricular activities. She is the first student-athlete to earn the award from Loyola.

“Civic engagement, as exemplified by President Lincoln, is crucial to our democracy and the process of our government,” said Governor Rauner. “The young men and women receiving this recognition today embody the spirit of President Lincoln through their hard work and dedication to their schools and communities.”

Each award honoree received a Student Laureate Medallion as well as a $1,000 educational grant and a certificate of achievement

Unique to the 50 states, the Lincoln Academy was established more than 50 years ago to honor distinguished citizens with the state’s highest award, the Order of Lincoln. This is the 41st year that the Academy has celebrated and honored the achievements of students’ academic performance and excellence.

Rogers, who has a 3.937 grade-point average as a psychology major, has won 16 games and has 19 complete games in her first three seasons in the circle for the Ramblers.

Loyola opens the 2016 season on Feb. 12 against Murray State at the Kennesaw State Invitational.

track trio ranked in top five of national leaderboardAfter the first month of NCAA Indoor Track & Field competition, three Loyola seniors rank in the top five of the TFRRS College Leaderboard. Peter Archibald, who was named the MVC’s Track Athlete of the Week in early December, holds the fastest 1,000m time in the nation after clocking a 2:23.92 in the event, good for second in school history. Jake Mazanke was not far behind his teammate and ranks fourth nationally in the same event.

On the women’s side, Rebecca Stearns won the 600m race at the Grand Valley State Holiday Open with a time of 1:33.97, which currently ranks fifth in the nation. Stearns owns the school record in the event when she ran 1:31.17 in 2013.

Banquet set for january 10The fifth annual Loyola Track & Field and Cross Country Alumni Banquet is set for Sunday, January 10 in the Damen Student Center at Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus.

The event honors recent team academic and athletic accomplishments, in addition to celebrating the 2015 senior class. Loyola All-American and Hall of Famer John McCabe will serve as the keynote speaker. Individual tickets are $30 and tables can be sponsored for $250.

Upcoming scheduleJan. 16 – Illini Classic, Champaign, ILJan. 22-23 – Gladstein Invitational, Bloomington, INJan. 29-30 – Indiana Relays, Bloomington, INFeb. 5-6 – Meyo Invitational, South Bend, INFeb. 6 - Windy City Invite, Chicago, IL


raMblings

Senior Peter Archibald

Senior Ashley Rogers

rambler report - january 2016

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