In Short…
For the fourth consecutive outing, Loyola rebounded from a first set setback to win the match 3-1. The Ramblers were anchored by three 10-plus kill performances and a Garrett Zolg double-double.
 
Coach Hulse's Thoughts
"McKendree brought it tonight, but I thought we responded well and battled out the victory," head coach Mark Hulse said. "We had great performances from a handful of individuals, but a very nice team win on the road."
 
How It Happened
McKendree took control of the opening set with a 5-0 run that put the home team up 8-5 early. Kyle Piekarski fired a kill up the middle following the pause in the action, but it wasn't enough to capture the game tempo as the Bearcats collected five of the next six points to extend the lead to 13-7. Loyola produced in spurts, but were unable to narrow the deficit beyond five the rest of the way and dropped the first frame, 25-16.
 
The Ramblers got a block from Luke Denton and Paul Narup to begin the second set. Four kills over the next seven LUC points opened the lead to 8-4 and forced a Bearcats timeout. McKendree managed to trim the lead to 15-12, but Loyola answered with a 4-1 run that widened the lead to 19-13. A pair of Denton kills helped maintain Loyola's control of the tempo, while two more from Narup and Collin Mahan kept a steady lead at 23-18. The stanza closed in style with Piekarski's second solo block of the night and Denton's eighth kill of the night to tie the match at one set apiece.
 
In a set that Loyola never trailed, the first sign of separation came from a 5-1 run that put the visitors up 9-5. Tischler, Mahan and Narup all logged kills to catapult Loyola in front. The Bearcats fought back with a 3-0 run later on that cut the lead to 16-13, but a later 17-14 lead would be the closest they'd cut it. Three Bearcat errors, two attack and one ball-handling, sprung the Maroon and Gold to the 20-point mark. From there, Will Tischler, Narup and Denton (twice) posted kills to guide the Ramblers to the swing-set victory and enter the fourth ahead in the elimination set.
 
The fourth set proved to be the most evenly-played of the night with neither team able to string together three straight points before the 20-20 mark. Even with the point runs few and far between, Loyola managed to grab an early 6-3 lead behind kills from all three pin hitters. The Bearcats worked its way back into an 8-8 tie, and from there the set saw 10 ties and lead change by the time the score read 20-20. Following a Rambler timeout, Hulse's squad captured the set's first 3-0 run to go up 23-21. McKendree countered with a 3-0 run of its own to bring the action to set point. In a frame where 3-0 runs seemed defunct, the Maroon and Gold managed yet another in the late-set action to capture the 26-24 win and get out Lebanon with a four-set match victory.
 
A Look at the Numbers
-Collin Mahan's eight digs on Thursday night put him at an even 100 for the season.
-With two solo blocks in the match, Kyle Piekarski set a new singe-match career high.
-For the first time in his career, Garrett Zolg has tallied at least 40 assists in four straight matches.
-Loyola's six-match winning streak ties its season-high.
 
Up Next
The Ramblers have two days off upon their return to game action on Sunday (Feb. 24) for a road tilt with the Ohio State Buckeyes. The 1 p.m. CT contest will air on the Big Ten Network.