Fort Wayne Welcomes Two Ranked Foes to Town

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - No. 14 Fort Wayne welcomes No. 6 Loyola and No. 8 Lewis to Arnie Ball Court this weekend for a pair of ranked matchups.

Gameday Information vs. Loyola
WHEN: Friday, February 16 | 7 p.m.
WHERE: Fort Wayne, Ind. | Arnie Ball Court
LIVE STATS: gomastodons.com/stats
LIVE VIDEO: gomastodons.com/watch
LIVE AUDIO: gomastodons.com/listen
Play-by-Play: Mike Maahs
SERIES HISTORY: Loyola leads 31-18
LAST MEETING: Fort Wayne 1, No. 10 Loyola 3 (25-18, 25-17, 22-25, 25-23) | April 6, 2017 | Fort Wayne, Ind.

Gameday Information vs. Lewis
WHEN: Saturday, February 17 | 7 p.m.
WHERE: Fort Wayne, Ind. | Arnie Ball Court
LIVE STATS: gomastodons.com/stats
LIVE VIDEO: gomastodons.com/watch
LIVE AUDIO: gomastodons.com/listen
Play-by-Play: Mike Maahs
SERIES HISTORY: Lewis leads 33-24
LAST MEETING: Fort Wayne 0, No. 7 Lewis 3 (25-13, 26-24, 25-16) | April 8, 2017 | Fort Wayne, Ind.

Scouting No. 14 Fort Wayne (9-2. 1-1 MIVA)
Fort Wayne will start the weekend 9-2, 1-1 MIVA. The Mastodons hold a MIVA win over McKendree, which came by way of a five-setter, and a loss to Ohio State, which came in straight sets. Fort Wayne are tied with Ohio State and Loyola for the best overall record, as all three have a 9-2 record.

Scouting No. 6 Loyola (9-2, 2-0 MIVA)
Loyola comes to Fort Wayne 9-2, 2-0 MIVA. The Ramblers are riding a seven-match win streak, but have not played away from home in that stretch. LUC has not played a true road match since the opening match of the season, which was a 3-2 victory over BYU. Loyola started MIVA play with a five-set win over Quincy and a sweep of Lindenwood.

Scouting No. 8 Lewis (8-3, 2-0 MIVA)
Lewis travels to Indiana with an 8-3, 2-0 MIVA record, and will face Ball State before Fort Wayne. The Flyers are also riding a win streak, but theirs is up to eight matches, all of which have been played at home. Lewis has not played a road match since January 6. The Flyers started MIVA play with sweeps over Lindenwood and Quincy.

Victory Won't Wait For the Nation That's Late
Fort Wayne has four more wins than last season, just 11 matches through the year. This is the most improved in the nation from the 2017 season to this season. Only three programs in the country have matched or passed their win totals from 2017 through this point in the 2018 season. Quincy and Lindenwood are the other two programs that have done so. Both have one more win in 2018 than in 2017.

Chip Off the Old Block
Fort Wayne had 19.5 team blocks against McKendree on Feb. 7, which was the first time a Mastodon squad had that number or more since 2006. The 'Dons had 23 blocks in a four set match at Ball State on March 18, and were led by 10 blocks from both Serdar Sikca and Josh Stewart.

Keegan Player of the Week Times Two
Michael Keegan was named MIVA Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season on February 6. He earned this distinction behind earning double-figure digs in matches at (RV) Saint Francis and No. 9 Penn State. He also added seven block assists for the weekend. Keegan and Tomas Gago have earned three of the five available MIVA Defensive Player of the Week awards.

Double Trouble
Michael Keegan has three double-doubles on the season after his weekend at Saint Francis and Penn State. He had 40 assists in both matches, and earned 10 and 11 digs at (RV) Saint Francis and No. 9 Penn State respectively. He pushed his career double-double total to 11, with nine of them coming on the road.

AVCA Top 15 'Dons
Fort Wayne moved into the AVCA Top 15 Coaches Poll on January 29, coming in at No. 15. The Mastodons were ranked for the first time since April 20, 2015, which was also a spot at No. 15. In the most recent poll, the Mastodons are ranked 14th.

Conference Leader
Tomas Gago is ranked first in the MIVA and third in the nation in blocks per set with 1.34. He did not compete in Fort Wayne's first two matches of the year, but has since posted five or more blocks in five matches. This is the most on Fort Wayne's roster. This included eight blocks against Harvard and McKendree.

Bringing Out the Brooms
Six of Fort Wayne's nine victories so far this season have been sweeps. The Mastodons only dropped one set in January in a 3-1 win over Harvard.

In the Rankings...
Fort Wayne is ranked in the fourth in the country in blocks per set with 2.67. Individually, Michael Keegan is ninth in the country and third in the MIVA in assists per set with 10.19. Tomas Gago is third in the nation and first in the MIVA in blocks per set with 1.34. Pelegrin Vargas is ninth in the country and second in the MIVA with 3.66 kills per set.

Last Time Out
The Mastodons fell at No. 5 Ohio State in straight sets after defeating McKendree in five.

Next Time Up
The Mastodons will take the longest trip in the MIVA, heading out to Lindenwood and Quincy for a pair of matches. Quincy is currently 0-3 in the conference, while Lindenwood's only MIVA win is over the Hawks.

~ Feel the Rumble ~

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tomas Gago

Michael Keegan

Pelegrin Vargas

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics