Boxscore (PDF)

CHICAGO (February 24, 2018)
 
In Short
No. 8 Loyola University Chicago (12-3, 5-1 MIVA) rallied from a two-games-to-none deficit to notch a 20-25, 15-25, 25-21, 25-23, 17-15 victory over No. 4 and two-time defending NCAA champion Ohio State (11-4, 4-2 MIVA) tonight at Gentile Arena. The win is the Ramblers' seventh of the year over a nationally ranked opponent and extends their winning streak at home to nine matches.
 
How It Happened
Ohio State pulled away in the first set, posting five straight points to break free of a 17-17 stalemate and open up a comfortable 22-17 lead it would never relinquish on the way to a 25-20 victory.

Nothing went right for the Ramblers in set two, as they hit -.062 (3-4-16) and saw the Buckeyes mount an 8-2 run that turned a tie into a 12-6 lead. Loyola would get no closer than five points the rest of the way as Ohio State collected a 25-15 win to grab a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Loyola turned things around after the long intermission between sets two and three and picked itself up off the mat to make things interesting. Thanks to a .429 (15-3-28) hitting percentage, combined with crisper passing, the Ramblers seized an early 10-5 lead, receiving two kills apiece from Ricky Gevis, Jeff Jendryk and Collin Mahan, during that run. After Ohio State closed within two points, at 10-8, an OSU service error, followed by a Garrett Zolg kill moved the Loyola lead back to four and the Ramblers never looked back on the way to a 25-21 victory.
 
Four kills each from Mahan and Paul Narup highlighted a 25-23 decision in set four that evened the match at two sets apiece. A 6-1 run early on saw the Ramblers take hold of a 10-5 lead, but Ohio State surged ahead and claimed a 19-16 edge, making the outlook bleak for Loyola. However, back-to-back aces served by Zolg punctuated a 3-0 Loyola spurt that knotted the score, and after trading points for a short period, the Ramblers stayed alive in the match by tallying the final two points, on a Jendryk stop and a OSU error, for a 25-23 victory.
 
Loyola showed its resolve in the fifth set, rallying from a 10-7 deficit to register three unanswered points that evened the score at 10. Following a brief period of back-and-forth battling, a Buckeye hitting error gave the Ramblers a 16-15 edge and Jake Freeman closed out the improbable comeback by serving an ace on match point for a 17-15 victory.
 
A Look At The Numbers

• In addition to his team-high 13 kills, Mahan added six digs and three blocks. He has produced double-digit kills in 16 straight outings dating back to last season.
• Ryan Jamison and Narup notched 10 kills each, with Narup adding five blocks, while hitting at a .643 (10-1-14) clip.
• Jendryk pitched in nine kills and hit .421 (9-1-19) on the evening.
• Jake Hanes led Ohio State with 21 kills and Nicolas Szerszen added 20.

 
Up Next
Loyola hosts No. 9 Lewis on February 28.