Ramblermania

The regular season and conference tournaments are over, and the field is set for the NCAA Men’s Volleyball Tournament beginning Tuesday night, April 29 at Loyola’s Gentile Arena. Besides just serving as a gracious host for the 2014 national championship—which would be remarkable in itself– Loyola also happens to be the top overall seed in the tournament and playing out every extraordinary fantasy of a storybook season.

After compiling a 27-1 season, with a 25-match winning streak, perfect in conference and undefeated on the road, the Ramblers were selected as the top seed in the tournament.

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Loyola’s inaugural men’s basketball season in the Missouri Valley Conference was generally a disappointment, despite some authentic high spots and hope for the near-term future. The Ramblers may have mostly stumbled to a 10-22 season overall and a 4-14 last place finish in the Valley, but not without some impressive wins, a respectable showing at Arch Madness, and a Freshman/Newcomer of the Year award going to Milton Doyle.

Watching the opening game of the season against UW-Milwaukee, it quickly became apparent that the Ramblers had something very special in freshman Milton Doyle. The Chicago native and freshman transfer from the University of Kansas didn’t play in the preseason open scrimmage or the exhibition game against Lewis. And although he didn’t score his first point until the 18:23 mark of the second half, it was obvious to everyone that he was a significant talent.

With the score tied at halftime, Doyle scored all 18 of his points in the second half in helping Loyola to a 76-72 opening night victory over a very good UW-Milwaukee team. The skinny but athletic freshman would go on to score 460 more points in his debut season, leading the Ramblers in points, assists, blocks, steals, and free throws.

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