April 20, 2007

CHICAGO - Four members of the No. 11 Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team were selected to the 2007 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association All-Conference teams, the conference announced Friday. Seniors James Grunst, Brian Guntli and Zach Bailey were selected to the first team in voting by the coaches while junior Ian Anderson was voted to the second team.

The only four-time conference honoree in the conference this season, Grunst leads the nation with a .559 hitting percentage and is second on the team with 258 kills and 0.81 blocks per game. The middle blocker from Milwaukee, Wis., was named the Sports Imports/AVCA and MIVA Player of the Week on April 2 after hitting .769 (20-0-26) in a pair of Rambler victories against Rutgers-Newark and then-No. 7 Ohio State in Alumni Gym where he averaged 1.29 blocks and 3.93 points per game. Grunst tied his career-high with six service aces in Loyola's 3-0 win over then-No. 7 Penn State on Saturday.

Setter Brian Guntli earned first-team all-conference honors for the second consecutive season and his third honor overall. Guntli finished second in the conference and seventh in the nation with 12.68 assists per game with a total of 1,319 to rank as the sixth-highest season total in school history and lands just 12 short of taking fifth place in school annals. Guntli registered a season-high 71 assists on Feb. 6 versus Lewis to help the St. Louis, Mo., native moved to second place on the school's all-time list with 5,163 assists, just 174 shy of head coach Shane Davis' school record.

Bailey earned his first career all-conference honor after having a career-high 251 digs this season for the Ramblers and needs just four more to have the second-best season in Loyola history. The libero from Glendale, Wis., is second in the MIVA and sixth in the country with 2.62 digs per game, highlighted by a career-high 21-dig performance against NJIT on March 3, 2007 in Romeoville, Ill.

Anderson received his first career all-conference selection with a second-team selection after leading Loyola on the attack throughout the season. The opposite hitter ranked second in the MIVA and 10th in the country with a team-high 4.49 kills per game. The Wauwatosa, Wis., native led Loyola or tied for the team lead in kills in 20 of 28 matches with seven 20-plus-kill performances, highlighted by 30 on Feb. 6 against Lewis. Anderson was named the MIVA Player of the Week on Jan. 23 after a career-high 28 kills in five games as part of a 33-point effort against then-seventh-ranked IPFW which included six assist blocks, one solo block and one service ace then notched his third 20-plus kill performance in four matches during a sweep of Mercyhurst.

Regular season champion Ohio State led the way with six players receiving all-conference honors. IPFW followed with five members receiving honors and Loyola had the third-most selections.

Ohio State's Daniel Mathews earned MIVA Player of the Year and Buckeye coach Pete Hanson was selected as the coach of the year while Ball State's Jeff Schmitz and IPFW's Matt Pliski share freshman of the year honors.

Loyola begins postseason action with a MIVA Tournament Quarterfinal match against Quincy at 7 p.m. in Alumni Gym. The Ramblers have won five consecutive matches, including three straight against nationally ranked opponents and are 54-8 in Alumni Gym in four seasons under Davis.

Tickets to the match cost $5 for adults and $1 for children 12 and under. All Loyola University students presenting a valid ID will be admitted free.

The winner of tonight's match advances to the MIVA Tournament semifinals to play the winner of Saturday's match between IPFW and Mercyhurst at 4 p.m. on Thursday in Columbus, Ohio.

2007 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association All-Conference (listed alphabetical)

First Team

Athlete School Pos. Ht. Cl. Hometown

Zach Bailey Loyola L 6-2 Sr. Glendale, Wis.

Jared Dayton Lewis OH 6-6 Jr. Laguna Hills, Calif.

Layne Dreven Ohio State MH 6-8 Sr. Pittsburgh, Pa.

James Grunst (1,4,7,8) Loyola MH 6-8 Sr. Milwaukee, Wis.

Brian Guntli (1,5) Loyola S 6-3 Sr. St. Louis, Mo.

Colin Lundeen (2) IPFW S 6-3 Sr. Victoria, B.C., Canada

C.J. Macias (1,5) IPFW OH 6-4 Jr. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Daniel Mathews (1,5,6) Ohio State S 6-6 Jr. Shorewood, Wis.

Nick Meyer (1,5) Ball State OH 6-8 Sr. Cincinnati, Ohio

Josh Stewart (2) IPFW MH 6-8 Jr. St. Mary's, Ont., Canada

Second Team

Athlete School Pos. Ht. Cl. Hometown

John Albertson (1,3) Ohio State MH 6-6 Jr. Ballwin, Mo.

Ian Anderson Loyola OPP 6-4 Jr. Wauwatosa, Wis.

Peter Coley Quincy OPP 6-4 Fr. Evanston, Ill.

Robbie Klein Ohio State OH 6-3 Jr. Cincinnati, Ohio

Conor Martin # Ohio State L 6-0 Jr. Avon Lake, Ohio

Matt McCarthy Ball State MH 6-8 So. Wheaton, Ill.

Dan Meske Ohio State OH 6-1 Sr. Willow Spring, Ill.

Drew Pickering (2) Lewis OH 5-10 So. Wauwatosa, Wis.

Ian Peckler # (2) Ball State L 6-3 Jr. Vernon Hills, Ill.

Billy Sahagian Lewis MB 6-6 So. Bartlett, Ill.

Brock Ullrich IPFW OH 6-6 Jr. Winfield, Ill.

# tied for second team libero

2007 MIVA Player of the Year

Daniel Mathews

2007 MIVA Co-Freshman of the Year

Jeff Schmitz Ball State S 6-2 Fr. Fenton, Mo.

Matt Pliski IPFW L 6-3 Fr. St. Charles, Mo.

2007 MIVA Coach of the Year

Pete Hanson Ohio State

1 Indicates 2006 MIVA First Team All-Conference Selection

2 Indicates 2006 MIVA Second Team All-Conference Selection

3 Indicates 2006 Freshman of the Year

4 Indicates 2005 MIVA First Team All-Conference Selection

5 Indicates 2005 MIVA Second Team All-Conference Selection

6 Indicates 2005 Freshman of the Year

7 Indicates 2004 MIVA First Team All-Conference Selection

8 Indicates 2004 Freshman of the Year