LEBANON, Ill. -

Final Score: No. 10 Loyola 3, McKendree 0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-22)
Records: Loyola (7-3, 3-0 MIVA); McKendree (5-9, 1-3 MIVA)
Location: Statham Center -- Lebanon, Ill.
Stats: Box Score  | Season Stats 

In Short
Ben Plaisted and Collin Mahan combined for 16 kills and Loyola University Chicago hit .301 (31-9-73) for the match en route to a 25-23, 25-16, 25-22 victory over McKendree (5-9, 1-3 MIVA) tonight at Statham Center. The win is the tenth-ranked Ramblers’ fourth in a row and improves them to 7-3 overall and 3-0 in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association play heading into a big showdown with No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday.

How It Happened
Loyola was the beneficiary of several McKendree errors at the outset of the first set as the visitors jumped out to an early 9-5 advantage. The host Bearcats picked themselves off the mat and went on a 15-8 run that was capped by a Nolan Rueter kill to seize a 20-17 lead. Mahan halted the Bearcats’ momentum and ignited a set-closing 8-3 Rambler run, totaling a pair of kills during that stretch, to help Loyola rally for a 25-23 victory.

Everything went the Ramblers’ way in the second set as the Maroon and Gold hit a whopping .500 (11-0-22) to roll to a 25-16 win and 2-0 lead in the match. Loyola was clinging to an 11-10 advantage, but a Bearcat error, followed by consecutive blocks from Ian Cowen and Jeff Jendryk gave the Ramblers some breathing room. Following a service error that cut the LU lead to three, the Ramblers tallied five of the next seven points to bust open a 19-12 lead and never were threatened the remainder of the set.

McKendree wouldn’t go down without a fight and surged to a 17-14 lead in the third set before Loyola mounted a rally. Plaisted sparked a string of four straight points with a kill and later teamed with Jendryk on a block as the Ramblers claimed an 18-17 edge.

The teams would exchange points until Jendryk gave Loyola the lead for good with his seventh kill of the evening. A Bearcat hitting error doubled the Ramblers’ lead to 23-21 and after McKendree cut the deficit in half, Plaisted answered with a kill and then combined with Paul Narup on a block that gave LU a 25-22 victory and its fourth straight win.

Inside The Box Score
- Mahan and Plaisted led a balanced Loyola attack with eight kills each.
- Jendryk tallied seven kills and six blocks.
- Cowen handed out 31 assists and added six digs and three blocks.
- McKendree was led by Maalik Walker’s 13 kills.
- Loyola has won all six of its all-time meetings with McKendree, sweeping the Bearcats in each outing.

Up Next
Loyola heads to Columbus, Ohio, to face top-ranked Ohio State on Saturday (Feb. 11) at 6 p.m. Central.