The schedule has been announced.

http://www.loyolaramblers.com/sports/m- ... 16aaa.html

Matches against UCLA and BYU in the first week of the season (Both of which occur at home).

Pepperdine at the Joe, also. A few years ago they were left out of the NCAA Tournament because their RPI was mediocre due to their refusal to play non con or road games outside the MPSF. Apparently, they got the message.

I’m curious to know what everyone thinks about this team. There are a lot of question marks. Hulse has a season under his belt, but needs to replace a couple long-time starters in Olson and Hutz. I don’t know if there is a player you point to as the leader, since it is a young team. LeClair showed some good potential, but obviously didn’t have the chemistry Hutz had with the hitters. Passing should improve since all the main passers come back. The Outside Hitters got better as the season went along, so I’d expect better production out of them.

Worst Case: The team never finds a rhythm, passing continues to struggle, resulting in the hitters facing 2-3 blockers. We drop a few matches we should win such as Quincy, McKendree or Grand Canyon. Team finishes with 14-16 wins.

Best Case: Reasonably, team treads the water finding its identity for the first month or two of the season, maybe winning a big game or two, but finishes strong with some unlikely players stepping up, making the NCAA tournament. Season ends similarly to 2013 when they won 12 of the last 13 games before losing in the NCAA semis to UC Irvine. This is when Jaeschke started to emerge as an elite player.

All that said, I think Loyola finishes strong, ends with 17-19 wins, 3rd or 4th in MIVA play, where they lose to Ohio State in the tournament (semis or finals). However, I think if they play well this year, especially in the latter half of the season, LU should be the conference favorites with a shot at another national title in 2018.