In Short…
Loyola knocked off No. 15 Purdue Fort Wayne, 3-1 on Friday night (Feb. 15) behind 10.0 team blocks. Three Ramblers logged double-digit kills for the second consecutive match, led by Collin Mahan's 15.
 
Coach Hulse's Thoughts…
"Those guys compete really hard," head coach Mark Hulse said. "The fourth set got away from them, but beyond that it was a real hard fought match by both teams. I thought they played well by-and-large and we were lucky to have won it in four."
 
How It Happened
For Loyola to make it four wins in a row, Friday night's victory would have to occur in comeback fashion for the second match in a row. Helped by a .524 attack percentage, the Mastodons claimed the first set at a 25-20 mark. The set began with Loyola looking in charge with a 7-4 lead, but Purdue Fort Wayne chipped away and executed a 3-0 run right before the media timeout to go up 15-13. A 4-0 run later on extended the lead to 23-18, providing a large enough cushion to close out the set at 25-20.
 
A Paul Narup kill and a Garrett Zolg ace jump-started the Ramblers' lead at 3-0 in the second frame. Narup was at it again later on, this time in the blocking department. The middle blocker registered three total in the second, including back-to-back stuffs to run the Ramblers' lead to 12-6. His third stopper in a span of five points anchored a 7-0 Loyola run that gave his team a 10-point lead at 16-6. The Mastodons would not go down quietly, beginning with an immediate counter punch 6-1 run that narrowed their deficit to 17-12. The 'Dons were able to make it a two-point set at 21-19, but a Kyle Piekarski kill stopped their 5-1 run, and allowed Loyola to trade points the rest of the way to win the second stanza 25-21.
 
Loyola got three kills from three different players in the third set, including a trio of early ones from Will Tischler to propel Loyola to a 10-7 lead. After Purdue Fort Wayne cut the Ramblers' lead to one, Devin Joslyn entered the contest and went a perfect 3-for-3 on the attack to provide a jolt on the attack. Down 23-18, Mastodons put together a mini-rally that cut their deficit to three, but it was too little, too late as Loyola held off its opponent's comeback hopes to claim the swing-set, 25-21.
 
Already with six kills and four blocks, Narup brought his game to an even greater level in the close-out set with five kills on five swings. He also registered two more blocks (one solo) to surpass 50 this season. In what started as a 5-3 lead for Loyola, a 4-0 run widened the lead to 9-3 and put the Ramblers in the driver's seat. A Narup kill and a Zolg ace made it 13-6 and sparked a 5-1 run that ran the lead to 16-7 and burned a 'Dors timeout. Now with a lengthy lead, Narup made it a 10-point cushion with a kill at 17-7, and later extended it to 11 points at 23-12 with his fourth kill of the set. Upon match point, Narup finished the job with his season-high 11^th kill of the contest to capture the set 25-13 and win the match in four.
 
A Look at the Numbers
-Paul Narup set a single-match season high with 11 kills to exceed 400 in his career (406). His three solo blocks tied his career high.
-With his 11 digs, Avery Aylsworth logged his 15^th career match of 10 or more. He also went over 100 digs on the season, now sitting at 105.
-Loyola's .404 attack percentage is the highest in a MIVA match since March 17, 2018 (.432 at Lewis).
-The victory extended Loyola's winning streak to 13 straight over Purdue Fort Wayne, it's second longest active win streak against a MIVA opponents (Quincy, 21 straight wins).
 
Up Next
Loyola wraps up the weekend slate tomorrow night (Feb. 16) with a tilt against No. 12 Ball State. All-time in matches played in Rogers Park, the Ramblers hold a 22-3 win-loss advantage.