Tremendous win by the #1 Ramblers over #10 Lewis tonight at Gentile Arena.

Last year, the road team won all three meetings between Loyola and their MIVA nemesis Lewis-- capped by Loyola's 3-2 victory in the MIVA Final in Romeoville. Loyola beat Lewis 3-1 in Romeoville on Feb. 5, part of the Ramblers' 14-match winning streak leading up to tonight's matchup.

Lewis put a scare in the Ramblers in the first set by winning it 25-22, but Loyola came back to win the final three sets 25-23, 25-19, 25-19.

In Loyola's 15-match winning streak since Jan. 4, the Ramblers have won 45 out of 50 sets. The Ramblers have won 51 out of the 62 sets they've played all year. Loyola now stands at 17-1 on the season, with a 9-1 record against teams that were then-- or have since appeared-- in the national rankings.

Up next is #14 Penn State at Gentile Arena on Fri., March 21 at 7:00 p.m.

You can tell when a team has a bullseye on their back. Lewis looked much better than when the two teams met in Romeoville.
Lewis was really looking for the upset. To me, the key to victory was the play of Cody Caldwell. He really was focused. He showed last night the talent that made him Player of the Year his senior year of high school. If he can maintain that level of focus, I think the team has an excellent chance to still be playing in May.

So while #1 Loyola beat #10 Lewis and #14 Penn State this week, #2 Long Beach State lost 3-0 at #4 Pepperdine. Long Beach plays at #7 USC tonight.

I guess #3 BYU will move up to #2 with the five West Coast first place votes in the next poll on Monday....