Box Score

CHICAGO - The No. 1 Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team swept Barton College (25-19, 25-19, 25-20) on Saturday night to remain undefeated at 7-0. Thomas Jaeschke led the Ramblers with 14 kills while Jeff Jendryk added 10.

After beginning the match with a Jaeschke service ace, the Ramblers raced out to a 13-4 lead. Jendryk fired four kills during the stretch, while Plaisted recorded two and Jaeschke and Trevor Novotny each had one. After a service ace from Novotny, the Bulldogs went on a 6-0 run to pull within four points and make the score 14-9, forcing a Rambler timeout. Jaeschke fired a kill out of the timeout but Barton responded with another run to cut the Loyola lead to one (15-14). The teams traded points back-and-forth until back-to-back kills from Jaeschke and Jendryk increased the Rambler lead to 22-18, forcing a Bulldog timeout. The Ramblers were able to close out the set behind a Ben Plaisted service ace and a kill from Jendryk to win it 25-19 behind a .400 team hitting percentage.

The second set began with the teams trading points until a 3-0 run put the Bulldogs ahead 10-8, forcing a Rambler timeout. Loyola fired back-to-back kills out of the timeout to tie the set, and the teams battled back-and-forth until a 4-0 Rambler run made the score 17-14 and forced a Bulldog timeout. After a string of Barton errors and kills from Plaisted and Jaeschke, Loyola took the second set 25-19 while holding the Bulldogs to a -.403 hitting percentage.

The teams traded points back-and-forth to begin the third set until the Ramblers went on a 6-1 run, capped by back-to-back Jaeschke kills, to take an 11-7 lead. The Ramblers maintained a steady lead behind three kills from Jaeschke and two from Jendryk before the Bulldogs were able to put together a 4-1 run and pull within two points (22-20). After kills from Ricky Gevis and Novotny, Robert Chilcoat entered the game and fired a service ace to seal the victory for the Rambers.

Loyola opens conference play next weekend with a trip to Lebanon, Illinois, on Feb. 7 to take on the newest member of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, the McKendree Bearcats.