Thursday, March 22
Romeoville, Ill.
8 PM
Purdue Fort Wayne
at
Lewis
No. 15 Mastodons Hit the Road for Two Ranked Matches
3/21/2018 1:24:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The No. 15 Fort Wayne men's volleyball team is set for a pair of matches against ranked foes, when the Mastodons travel to No. 10 Lewis and No. 6 Loyola on Thursday and Saturday (March 22-24).
Gameday Information at Lewis
WHEN: Thursday, March 22 | 8 p.m. EST
WHERE: Romeoville, Ill. | Neil Carey Arena
LIVE STATS: sidearmstats.com/lewisu/mvball/
LIVE VIDEO: glvcsn.com/lewis/
LIVE AUDIO: gomastodons.com/listen
Play-by-Play: Mike Maahs
SERIES HISTORY: Lewis leads 34-24
LAST MEETING: Fort Wayne 0, No. 8 Lewis 3 (25-17, 25-19, 25-16) | Feb. 17, 2018 | Fort Wayne, Ind.
Gameday Information at Loyola
WHEN: Saturday, March 24 | 8 p.m. EST
WHERE: Chicago, Ill. | Gentile Arena
LIVE STATS: stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=200985
LIVE VIDEO: espn.com/watch/_/id/3304692/fort-wayne-vs-loyolachicago-m-volleyball
LIVE AUDIO: gomastodons.com/listen
Play-by-Play: Mike Maahs
SERIES HISTORY: Loyola leads 32-18
LAST MEETING: Fort Wayne 2, No. 6 Loyola 3 (27-25, 25-19, 23-25, 18-25, 15-12) | Feb. 16, 2018 | Fort Wayne, Ind.
Scouting Fort Wayne (15-7, 3-5 MIVA)
Fort Wayne enters the week 15-7, 3-5 MIVA, coming in at No. 15 in the AVCA Top 15 Coaches Poll. The Mastodons are led by Pelegrin Vargas on the offensive end, who leads with 3.74 kills per set, while Michael Keegan paces with 9.61 assists per set and 2.30 digs per set. Richie Diedrich leads the team with 0.94 blocks per set.
Scouting Lewis (14-8, 5-3 MIVA)
Lewis enters its matchup with Fort Wayne with a 14-8, 5-3 MIVA record, and is coming off a three-set loss to Loyola. The Flyers are No. 10 in the AVCA Top 15 Coaches Poll, and are led by Ryan Coenen, who has a team-high 3.62 kills per set for the year. Defensively, Tyler Mitchem and Danny Maurer are both averaging at least one block per set.
Scouting Loyola (17-4, 7-1 MIVA)
Loyola is 17-4, 7-1 MIVA, and currently leads the conference. The Ramblers are coming off two straight-set wins at Pepperdine and Lewis. Before they welcome the Mastodons, the Ramblers will play Ball State. They are led by Collin Mahan and Jeff Jendryk, who both average over a .300 hitting clip on over 300 attempts. Loyola is No. 6 in the AVCA Top 15 Coaches Poll.
Career Night
Sophomore Pelegrin Vargas matched his career-high 24 kills in the five-set loss to Ball State on March 14. This is the most kills in a MIVA match this season by any individual, and Vargas has done it twice. Vargas also had a career-high 15 digs against the Cardinals, which surpassed his previous high of 11.
That Third Set Though...
Fort Wayne hit .708 in the third set against Ball State on Wednesday (March 15), which is the highest single-set clip since January 4, 2014, when the Mastodons hit .739 in the third set of a four-set defeat of Cal Baptist. The 'Dons only had two errors in Wednesday's third set, and tallied up 19 kills. Pelegrin Vargas had eight kills on nine swings, while Tony Price and Richie Diedrich were perfect with four and two kills respectively.
Price National and MIVA POTW
Behind a strong all-around performance in California, Fort Wayne native Tony Price was selected as the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week and MIVA Offensive Player of the Week for March 13. Price had 3.09 kills per set in three matches, including 15 in the three-set win over No. 14 Concordia Irvine. He had no errors on the Eagles' home floor, leading to a .625 hitting clip. He also had 19 digs on the week, including nine at No. 3 UC Irvine. This is the fourth time this season that a Mastodon has been selected as a MIVA Player of the Week, and the first time since 2015 that a Fort Wayne player has been the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week. Price is the eighth Mastodon to earn the national award, and it is the 11th time overall award for the Fort Wayne program.
On That UC Irvine Win...
Fort Wayne defeated No. 3 UC Irvine on Wednesday, March 7, which was the first top-five win for the program since 2007 when the Mastodons topped No. 1 Pepperdine in the national semifinal. It was the ninth top-five win in program history. The Mastodons topped the Anteaters despite being out-blocked 22.5-7. Irvine's 22.5 blocks was the most in a single match by any team this season. This was also the Mastodons' first win over a ranked team this season.
Attaining 600
With a 3-0 sweep over No. 14 Concordia Irvine, the Mastodons reached 600 program victories. Fort Wayne is the only program that began in 1980 or later that has eclipsed this threshold. The 500th win came in 2011 by way of a 3-0 win over Carthage.
There's Gonna Be So Much Winning
Fort Wayne has 10 more wins than last season. This is the most improved in the nation from the 2017 season to this season.
Double Trouble
Michael Keegan has seven double-doubles on the season after a 26 assist/14 dig performance at Ball State. He pushed his career double-double total to 15, with 11 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 were ranked 15th.
Bringing Out the Brooms
Eight of Fort Wayne's victories so far this season have been sweeps. The Mastodons only dropped one set in January in a 3-1 win over Harvard.
Dig Your Heels In
Junior transfer Kolbie Knorr had a career-high 21 digs in his return to his former institution, Quincy on Feb. 24. This is the most digs in a match by any player in the MIVA this season. Knorr's 21 digs was only two short of the Fort Wayne single-match record of 23, which was set by Mike Morici in 2005 at Quincy and matched by Luis Bertran in 2015 at Limestone. Knorr had seven of his digs in the fifth set against the Hawks. The 21 digs in a single match is the most by a MIVA player this season.
Chip Off the Old Block
Fort Wayne had 19.5 team blocks against McKendree on Feb. 7, which was the first time a Mastodon team had that number or more since 2006. The 'Dons had 23 blocks in a four-setter at Ball State on March 18, 2006 led by 10 blocks from both Serdar Sikca and Josh Stewart. This is tied for the most blocks in a single match by any team in the MIVA this season.
One of Three
Fort Wayne was one of just three programs in the country with an undefeated record through the month of January. No. 1 Long Beach State was 9-0 and Charleston was 3-0. Charleston later dropped a match to Ohio State, but Long Beach remains unbeaten.
Eight is Great
Fort Wayne started the season with eight straight wins, which tied the longest win-streak to start the season in program history. The other season that the Mastodons had eight straight to start was 2007. The 'Dons started 8-0 one season after starting 0-8 in 2017.
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 double-figure digs at (RV) Saint Francis and No. 9 Penn State. He also added seven block assists for the weekend. Keegan and Tomas Gago earned three of the first five available MIVA Defensive Player of the Week awards.
Gago Player of the Week
Tomas Gago was the recipient of the MIVA Defensive Player of the Week for the week of January 23. Gago had 14 blocks over two matches against Harvard and Sacred Heart, averaging two per set. In addition to his defensive performance, he also contributed 11 kills, with a perfect 6 for 6 against SHU. Because of this, he earned the Off the Block/Springbak Inc. National Freshman of the Week.
Sweeping Start
Fort Wayne started the season with four straight sweeps. This is the first time in program history that Fort Wayne started the season with four straight victories without dropping a set. The four-match stretch is the longest streak of sweeps since 2007, when the Mastodons had six straight, including three matches in the MIVA tournament.
Hot Hitting at Princeton
The Mastodons had hot hands at Princeton, ending the night with a .522 hitting clip. Tomas Gago led the 'Dons with a .700 clip, followed by Pelegrin Vargas (.615), Colton Stone (.375) and Tony Price (.364). Richie Diedrich had five kills on five attempts for a perfect 1.000 and Michael Keegan also had a kill on his only attempt. Keegan dished out 32 assists, and the 'Dons recorded 40 total assists on 41 kills.
Winning Big Over Emmanuel
Fort Wayne's win over Emmanuel had a 29-point differential in favor of the Mastodons. This was Fort Wayne's largest differential in a three-set match since 2015, when the 'Dons defeated Loras. That match also had a 29-point differential.
National Players
Three players on the Fort Wayne roster have playing experience for their respective national teams. Sophomore Pelegrin Vargas competed for the Puerto Rican National Team, freshman Tomas Gago for the Chilean Team, and freshman Frederico Santos for the Portuguese National Team.
Where They're From
Tony Price and Max Hansen are two of only three players from the state of Indiana playing on an NCAA DI or DII roster for the 2018 season. Jack Carlson is one of only two players from Colorado on a DI or DII roster for this season.
Watch Out For Pele
Sophomore Pelegrin Vargas was named to the Karch Kiraly Award Watch List for the 2018 season. The Karch Kiraly Award is given to an outstanding outside hitter at the DI or DII level. TJ DeFalco of Long Beach State was the 2017 recipient and Nicolas Szerszen of Ohio State won it in 2016. He joins five other MIVA players that were also selected for the watch list.
Watch Out For Fred
Freshman Frederico Santos was selected for the 2018 Lloy Ball Award Watch List. The Lloy Ball Award is given to an outstanding setter at the DI or DII level. Santos joins the likes of Josh Tuaniga (Long Beach State), who won the Lloy Ball Award in 2017, and Leo Durkin (BYU) who was selected as a finalist in 2017. There are four MIVA setters who made the watch list.
Last Time Out
Fort Wayne dropped a three-set match at No. 11 Ball State. Three different Mastodons had eight or more kills, including Richie Diedrich, who hit .500 on the night. Michael Keegan had his 15th career double-double with 26 assists and 14 digs.
Next Time Up
The Mastodons return home for the final four matches of the regular season, beginning with Quincy and Lindenwood on March 30 and 31. Ohio State and McKendree come to Fort Wayne on April 6 and 7 to conclude the MIVA season.
Gameday Information at Lewis
WHEN: Thursday, March 22 | 8 p.m. EST
WHERE: Romeoville, Ill. | Neil Carey Arena
LIVE STATS: sidearmstats.com/lewisu/mvball/
LIVE VIDEO: glvcsn.com/lewis/
LIVE AUDIO: gomastodons.com/listen
Play-by-Play: Mike Maahs
SERIES HISTORY: Lewis leads 34-24
LAST MEETING: Fort Wayne 0, No. 8 Lewis 3 (25-17, 25-19, 25-16) | Feb. 17, 2018 | Fort Wayne, Ind.
Gameday Information at Loyola
WHEN: Saturday, March 24 | 8 p.m. EST
WHERE: Chicago, Ill. | Gentile Arena
LIVE STATS: stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=200985
LIVE VIDEO: espn.com/watch/_/id/3304692/fort-wayne-vs-loyolachicago-m-volleyball
LIVE AUDIO: gomastodons.com/listen
Play-by-Play: Mike Maahs
SERIES HISTORY: Loyola leads 32-18
LAST MEETING: Fort Wayne 2, No. 6 Loyola 3 (27-25, 25-19, 23-25, 18-25, 15-12) | Feb. 16, 2018 | Fort Wayne, Ind.
Scouting Fort Wayne (15-7, 3-5 MIVA)
Fort Wayne enters the week 15-7, 3-5 MIVA, coming in at No. 15 in the AVCA Top 15 Coaches Poll. The Mastodons are led by Pelegrin Vargas on the offensive end, who leads with 3.74 kills per set, while Michael Keegan paces with 9.61 assists per set and 2.30 digs per set. Richie Diedrich leads the team with 0.94 blocks per set.
Scouting Lewis (14-8, 5-3 MIVA)
Lewis enters its matchup with Fort Wayne with a 14-8, 5-3 MIVA record, and is coming off a three-set loss to Loyola. The Flyers are No. 10 in the AVCA Top 15 Coaches Poll, and are led by Ryan Coenen, who has a team-high 3.62 kills per set for the year. Defensively, Tyler Mitchem and Danny Maurer are both averaging at least one block per set.
Scouting Loyola (17-4, 7-1 MIVA)
Loyola is 17-4, 7-1 MIVA, and currently leads the conference. The Ramblers are coming off two straight-set wins at Pepperdine and Lewis. Before they welcome the Mastodons, the Ramblers will play Ball State. They are led by Collin Mahan and Jeff Jendryk, who both average over a .300 hitting clip on over 300 attempts. Loyola is No. 6 in the AVCA Top 15 Coaches Poll.
Career Night
Sophomore Pelegrin Vargas matched his career-high 24 kills in the five-set loss to Ball State on March 14. This is the most kills in a MIVA match this season by any individual, and Vargas has done it twice. Vargas also had a career-high 15 digs against the Cardinals, which surpassed his previous high of 11.
That Third Set Though...
Fort Wayne hit .708 in the third set against Ball State on Wednesday (March 15), which is the highest single-set clip since January 4, 2014, when the Mastodons hit .739 in the third set of a four-set defeat of Cal Baptist. The 'Dons only had two errors in Wednesday's third set, and tallied up 19 kills. Pelegrin Vargas had eight kills on nine swings, while Tony Price and Richie Diedrich were perfect with four and two kills respectively.
Price National and MIVA POTW
Behind a strong all-around performance in California, Fort Wayne native Tony Price was selected as the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week and MIVA Offensive Player of the Week for March 13. Price had 3.09 kills per set in three matches, including 15 in the three-set win over No. 14 Concordia Irvine. He had no errors on the Eagles' home floor, leading to a .625 hitting clip. He also had 19 digs on the week, including nine at No. 3 UC Irvine. This is the fourth time this season that a Mastodon has been selected as a MIVA Player of the Week, and the first time since 2015 that a Fort Wayne player has been the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week. Price is the eighth Mastodon to earn the national award, and it is the 11th time overall award for the Fort Wayne program.
On That UC Irvine Win...
Fort Wayne defeated No. 3 UC Irvine on Wednesday, March 7, which was the first top-five win for the program since 2007 when the Mastodons topped No. 1 Pepperdine in the national semifinal. It was the ninth top-five win in program history. The Mastodons topped the Anteaters despite being out-blocked 22.5-7. Irvine's 22.5 blocks was the most in a single match by any team this season. This was also the Mastodons' first win over a ranked team this season.
Attaining 600
With a 3-0 sweep over No. 14 Concordia Irvine, the Mastodons reached 600 program victories. Fort Wayne is the only program that began in 1980 or later that has eclipsed this threshold. The 500th win came in 2011 by way of a 3-0 win over Carthage.
There's Gonna Be So Much Winning
Fort Wayne has 10 more wins than last season. This is the most improved in the nation from the 2017 season to this season.
Double Trouble
Michael Keegan has seven double-doubles on the season after a 26 assist/14 dig performance at Ball State. He pushed his career double-double total to 15, with 11 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 were ranked 15th.
Bringing Out the Brooms
Eight of Fort Wayne's victories so far this season have been sweeps. The Mastodons only dropped one set in January in a 3-1 win over Harvard.
Dig Your Heels In
Junior transfer Kolbie Knorr had a career-high 21 digs in his return to his former institution, Quincy on Feb. 24. This is the most digs in a match by any player in the MIVA this season. Knorr's 21 digs was only two short of the Fort Wayne single-match record of 23, which was set by Mike Morici in 2005 at Quincy and matched by Luis Bertran in 2015 at Limestone. Knorr had seven of his digs in the fifth set against the Hawks. The 21 digs in a single match is the most by a MIVA player this season.
Chip Off the Old Block
Fort Wayne had 19.5 team blocks against McKendree on Feb. 7, which was the first time a Mastodon team had that number or more since 2006. The 'Dons had 23 blocks in a four-setter at Ball State on March 18, 2006 led by 10 blocks from both Serdar Sikca and Josh Stewart. This is tied for the most blocks in a single match by any team in the MIVA this season.
One of Three
Fort Wayne was one of just three programs in the country with an undefeated record through the month of January. No. 1 Long Beach State was 9-0 and Charleston was 3-0. Charleston later dropped a match to Ohio State, but Long Beach remains unbeaten.
Eight is Great
Fort Wayne started the season with eight straight wins, which tied the longest win-streak to start the season in program history. The other season that the Mastodons had eight straight to start was 2007. The 'Dons started 8-0 one season after starting 0-8 in 2017.
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 double-figure digs at (RV) Saint Francis and No. 9 Penn State. He also added seven block assists for the weekend. Keegan and Tomas Gago earned three of the first five available MIVA Defensive Player of the Week awards.
Gago Player of the Week
Tomas Gago was the recipient of the MIVA Defensive Player of the Week for the week of January 23. Gago had 14 blocks over two matches against Harvard and Sacred Heart, averaging two per set. In addition to his defensive performance, he also contributed 11 kills, with a perfect 6 for 6 against SHU. Because of this, he earned the Off the Block/Springbak Inc. National Freshman of the Week.
Sweeping Start
Fort Wayne started the season with four straight sweeps. This is the first time in program history that Fort Wayne started the season with four straight victories without dropping a set. The four-match stretch is the longest streak of sweeps since 2007, when the Mastodons had six straight, including three matches in the MIVA tournament.
Hot Hitting at Princeton
The Mastodons had hot hands at Princeton, ending the night with a .522 hitting clip. Tomas Gago led the 'Dons with a .700 clip, followed by Pelegrin Vargas (.615), Colton Stone (.375) and Tony Price (.364). Richie Diedrich had five kills on five attempts for a perfect 1.000 and Michael Keegan also had a kill on his only attempt. Keegan dished out 32 assists, and the 'Dons recorded 40 total assists on 41 kills.
Winning Big Over Emmanuel
Fort Wayne's win over Emmanuel had a 29-point differential in favor of the Mastodons. This was Fort Wayne's largest differential in a three-set match since 2015, when the 'Dons defeated Loras. That match also had a 29-point differential.
National Players
Three players on the Fort Wayne roster have playing experience for their respective national teams. Sophomore Pelegrin Vargas competed for the Puerto Rican National Team, freshman Tomas Gago for the Chilean Team, and freshman Frederico Santos for the Portuguese National Team.
Where They're From
Tony Price and Max Hansen are two of only three players from the state of Indiana playing on an NCAA DI or DII roster for the 2018 season. Jack Carlson is one of only two players from Colorado on a DI or DII roster for this season.
Watch Out For Pele
Sophomore Pelegrin Vargas was named to the Karch Kiraly Award Watch List for the 2018 season. The Karch Kiraly Award is given to an outstanding outside hitter at the DI or DII level. TJ DeFalco of Long Beach State was the 2017 recipient and Nicolas Szerszen of Ohio State won it in 2016. He joins five other MIVA players that were also selected for the watch list.
Watch Out For Fred
Freshman Frederico Santos was selected for the 2018 Lloy Ball Award Watch List. The Lloy Ball Award is given to an outstanding setter at the DI or DII level. Santos joins the likes of Josh Tuaniga (Long Beach State), who won the Lloy Ball Award in 2017, and Leo Durkin (BYU) who was selected as a finalist in 2017. There are four MIVA setters who made the watch list.
Last Time Out
Fort Wayne dropped a three-set match at No. 11 Ball State. Three different Mastodons had eight or more kills, including Richie Diedrich, who hit .500 on the night. Michael Keegan had his 15th career double-double with 26 assists and 14 digs.
Next Time Up
The Mastodons return home for the final four matches of the regular season, beginning with Quincy and Lindenwood on March 30 and 31. Ohio State and McKendree come to Fort Wayne on April 6 and 7 to conclude the MIVA season.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's VolleyballPFW vs Maryville (Men's Volleyball)
Tuesday, March 11
PFW vs Thomas More (Mens Volleyball)
Friday, March 07
PFW vs Lindenwood (Mens Volleyball)
Friday, February 28
PFW vs Queens (Mens Volleyball)
Thursday, February 13
