In Short:
The Loyola University men's volleyball team made huge comebacks in the second and fourth sets to nearly defeat UC San Diego before ultimately falling, 3-2 on Thursday night in La Jolla, Calif. The Ramblers move to 1-2 while the Tritons capture their first win of the season.
 
Coach Mark Hulse Thoughts
"We responded really well after a rough first set, but we just weren't sharp enough down the stretch to get the win," Hulse said.
 
How It Happened:
UC San Diego controlled the first set, taking an early 5-1 lead. Danny Sutton Farrell recorded back-to-back kills to cut the Tritons lead, 8-5, but it wasn't enough. The Tritons went on multiple runs, including a 7-0 run to make the score 18-6. UCSD would go on to win the set, 25-9.
 
Not to be defeated, the Ramblers hustled back in the second set and took a 3-0 lead. Two big kills from Luke Denton and another from Anton Frank put the Ramblers up, 7-4. Loyola dominated at the net with a block from Frank and Denton to make the score 14-10. UCSD stayed close, never allowing more than a four-point deficit until game point. At a 23-20 Loyola lead, Denton notched an ace followed by an Ian Cowen kill to take the set, 25-20.
 
The third set very much resembled the first, as UCSD took an early 8-3 lead on the Ramblers that they weren't able to come back from. Schlothauer notched four of Loyola's eight kills in the third set and Andrew Lyons recorded his first two career kills and an ace. The Tritons won the set, 25-16.
 
Loyola made their return in the fourth set after back-to-back Denton ace's tied it up 7-7. UCSD went on a 6-0 run before the Ramblers played catch up. Multiple points from the Ramblers eventually brought them back in 17-17. Kills from Denton and Cowen finally gave Loyola a 19-18 lead before UCSD went on another 3-0 run. The teams went back and forth before Loyola took the set, 25-23.
 
In the fifth set, UCSD took an early 4-1 lead before Loyola picked up momentum from Henry Payne and Schlothauer kills to tie it up 5-5. The Tritons and Ramblers tied nine times before the Tritons won the set, 14-16.
 
A Look At The Numbers:

• Cole Schlothauer led the Ramblers with 15 kills on .211 hitting and seven digs.
• Ian Cowen tallied 33 assists and three kills.
• Luke Denton racked up a career-high six blocks and three aces.
• Andrew Lyons notched a career-high four kills.
• Henry Payne made his debut with the Ramblers and recorded a career-high two kills, two aces and three digs.
• UC San Diego posted 19 service errors in the match.

 
Up Next:
Loyola faces another road test tomorrow night as they head to UC Irvine for a 9 p.m. CT start.