Box Score Boxscore (PDF) 

PROVO, Utah (January 6, 2018)
 
In Short
Collin Mahan drilled a team-high 14 kills and three-time AVCA All-American Jeff Jendryk added 10, but it wasn't enough as No. 7 UC Irvine (2-0) slipped past No. 13 Loyola University Chicago tonight at Smith Fieldhouse, 22-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-22. With the loss, the Ramblers fall to 1-1 on the season.
 
How It Happened
Loyola trailed 12-11 in the opener before a kill from Mahan ignited an 8-3 run that culminated with a stop by Paul Narup that put the Ramblers on top, 19-15. UC Irvine got within two points on four occasions from that point forward, but Loyola had an answer each time, finally closing out a 25-22 victory on a kill by Jendryk.
 
Mahan gave the Ramblers a 6-5 advantage with his second kill of set two, but from there, UCI reeled off five of the next six tallies to grab a 10-7 lead it would never relinquish. Loyola got within two, at 12-10, on an errant Anteater serve, but UC Irvine would record three of the next four points to stretch its lead to 15-11 and never look back en route to a 25-19 decision.
 
Loyola put itself in a hole early in set three, falling behind 6-1 and later, 13-4, before rallying to make things interesting. Trailing 15-7, the Ramblers would work their way back into the set by notching six of the next seven points to close the gap to 16-13. UC Irvine would push its lead back up to five (22-17) before consecutive kills from Kyle Piekarski and Kyler Kotsakis opened up a 3-0 spurt that got the Ramblers within striking distance at 22-20. The teams then traded the next four points before a Rambler attack error ended the comeback.
 
UCI took control of the fourth set by tallying four unanswered points to open up a 19-13 lead. Loyola would chip away at the deficit and consecutive kills from Ryan Jamison, Mahan and Kotsakis brought the Ramblers within two points (24-22), but a kill from Kyle Apfelbach slammed the door on the rally, giving the Anteaters a 25-22 victory.
 
A Look At The Numbers

• Freshman Garrett Zolg recorded his second double-double in as many matches, finishing with 40 assists and 13 digs.
• Jendryk hit .444 (10-2-18) on the night, while Narup had another solid performance, hitting .625 (6-1-8).
• In addition to his team-high 14 kills, Mahan added nine digs, while Dane Leclair pitched in 11 digs.
• Apfelbach led UC Irvine with 22 kills.

 
Up Next
The Ramblers play their 2018 home opener on January 12 when they welcome George Mason to Gentile Arena.