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CHICAGO - The top-ranked Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team took down Harvard in a 25-23, 25-17, 25-22 sweep on Saturday afternoon to improve to 3-0 on the season. Cody Caldwell and Thomas Jaeschke led the Ramblers, firing 15 and 13 kills, respectively, while Nick Olson recorded nine kills and five blocks in the victory.

The first set began with the teams trading points back and forth until a 3-0 Loyola run, led by redshirt sophomore Owen McAndrews and freshman Jeff Jendryk, made the score 11-8, forcing a Harvard timeout. The Ramblers maintained a steady lead until back-to-back kills from Caldwell and junior Nicholas Olson, followed by a block by Jendryk and junior Peter Hutz, increased the Loyola lead to 18-13, forcing another Crimson timeout. After a service ace from Olson, a string of Rambler errors gave Harvard a three-point swing, cutting the lead to 19-16. The Ramblers were able to close out the set behind three kills from Jaeschke, along with one from Caldwell, to win it 25-23.

In the second set, the two teams battled back and forth until a 4-0 Loyola run, led by back-to-back kills from Caldwell and a service ace from Olson, increased the Rambler lead to 9-5. Following a Harvard timeout, the Ramblers jumped out to a 17-10 lead after Caldwell and Jaeschke each fired two kills apiece, along with blocks from Jendryk, Olson and Caldwell. The Ramblers were able to maintain the seven point lead behind three Olson kills before a kill from freshman Ben Plaisted sealed the deal, making the score 25-17 and giving Loyola a 2-0 lead. The Ramblers recorded their best hitting percentage of the match in the second set, outhitting the Crimson .444 to .048.

After trading points back and forth to open the third set, the Ramblers went on a 5-2 run behind kills from Caldwell, Jendryk, Jaeschke and Plaisted to take a 9-6 lead. The Ramblers maintained a three point lead until back-to-back kills from Jaeschke and Caldwell made the score 17-13, forcing a Harvard timeout. Plaisted scored back-to-back points out of the timeout, recording a kill and a block, to increase the Rambler lead to 19-13 until a string of Loyola errors pulled the Crimson back to within three points, once again. Olson then took charge, tallying two kills and a block, before kills from Caldwell and Jaeschke ended the set, giving Loyola the 3-0 victory.

The Ramblers are back in action next weekend when they travel east to take on No. 10 Penn State on Jan. 23, followed by a match against Saint Francis on Jan. 24.