In Short
The Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team fell to the No. 8 UC Irvine Anteaters, 3-1 tonight in Irvine, Calif. The Ramblers move to 1-3 on the season. Cole Schlothauer and Luke Denton each recorded a double-double to fuel the Ramblers, while Ian Cowen guided Loyola with a career-high 51 assists and Danny Sutton Farrell totaled a career-high six blocks.
 
Coach Mark Hulse's Thoughts
"It was great to see our group respond to a tough loss by coming out and competing at such a high level," Hulse said. "We weren't good enough to win it, but there's a lot to build on for sure."
 
How It Happened
UCI took an early 8-4 lead in the first set but the Ramblers got back on their feet from a Schlothauer ace to tie it up 11 all. Denton later notched a big kill to secure a 14-12 lead. Another Loyola ace from Cowen gave the Ramblers their largest lead of the match, 21-16, before they won the first set, 25-18.
 
A hard-fought battle in the second set didn't allow either team to lead by more than two points. UCI changed that when they pulled ahead, 23-20, but Loyola came up clutch to tie it once again. Schlothauer completed his tenth kill of the night, followed by a block and two more kills to help the Ramblers take the lead, 26-25 before UCI came back and won the set, 28-26.
 
The third set stayed close before UCI went on an 8-0 run to lead 19-11. The Ramblers brought it back within six before falling, 25-19.
 
Loyola took an early 4-3 lead in the fourth set after Henry Payne knocked down back-to-back kills. The Ramblers opened up their lead, 13-10 on two more consecutive kills from Payne. The match was tied 14 times in the fourth set, but UCI ended it, 25-22.   
 
A Look At The Numbers

• Loyola led UCI in kills (57), aces (6), assists (55) and digs (55).
• Ian Cowen dished out a career-high 51 assists.
• Cole Schlothauer notched a career-high 21 kills on .348 hitting percentage and recorded 11 digs.
• Danny Sutton Farrell totaled a career-high six blocks. 
• Luke Denton posted 11 kills and 12 digs.

 
Up Next
The Maroon & Gold return home this weekend to host No. 15 Penn State (Jan. 17) and No. 1 Hawaii (Jan. 18). Both matches start at 7 p.m. at Gentile Arena.