COLUMBUS, Oho (February 20, 2021)
 
In Short
Jacob Pasteur had a team-high 17 kills as Ohio State (3-6, 2-3 MIVA) rallied to capture a 22-25, 17-25, 25-23, 26-24, 15-11 victory over No. 11 Loyola University Chicago (8-1, 4-1 MIVA) this afternoon at the Covelli Center, handing the Ramblers their first loss of 2021. The setback also halts Loyola's winning streak at nine matches dating back to last season.
 
How It Happened
Loyola trailed 12-11 in the first set, but a Buckeye service error sparked a string of three straight points that included a Luke Denton-Colton Brooks-Andrew Lyons block and a Jimmy Meinhart ace that gave the Ramblers the lead for good, at 14-12. Ohio State closed within a point (18-17) only to see the Ramblers run off four consecutive points, the first three via Buckeyes errors, for a 22-17 advantage. OSU had one last push left in the tank and got within 22-20, but a kill from Denton slowed the momentum, and Loyola, which hit .438 (10-3-16) for the set, held on for a 25-22 victory.
 
Kills from Brooks and Denton and a pair of aces from Garrett Zolg highlighted a 5-0 Ramblers run to start set two, which forced Ohio State to use its first timeout. Ohio State crept within four points on a few occasions, but Loyola administered the knockout punch midway through the set, with kills from Cole Schlothauer and Meinhart, who also paired up on a block, part of a string of four unanswered points that built the lead back up to 15-7. Loyola went on to lead by as many as 10 points (22-12) as it coasted to a 25-17 decision. After hitting .438 in the opener, the Ramblers found a way to improve on that fiery mark, posting a .500 (12-2-20) attack percentage in set two.
 
Back-to-back kills from Brooks in a back-and-forth set three broke a tie and moved Loyola ahead, 14-12, but Ohio State responded with four straight tallies as part of an 9-2 run that put the hosts back on top, 21-16. Loyola mounted a rally, using kills from Jack Yentz, and Denton, a Buckeyes error, and a block from Denton and Meinhart, to trim the deficit to 21-20. A Sotiris Siapanis kill temporarily slowed the Ramblers' momentum, but an OSU service error and another stop from Denton evened the proceedings at 22-22. However, Justin Howard and Martin Lallemand followed with kills to give OSU the lead again and it went on to pick up a 25-23 win to force a fourth set.
 
In set four, a pair of Buckeyes blocks keyed a 3-0 spurt that erased a one-point Loyola lead and put the Scarlet and Gray ahead, 19-17. Ohio State's lead grew to 23-20, putting Loyola in a precarious position down three late in the set, but a Buckeyes service error provided some hope for the Maroon and Gold. Zolg and Lyons paired up on a block and Brooks followed with a kill to knot the score at 23-23 and force an OSU timeout. That break in the action proved to be just what Ohio State needed though, as it came out of the timeout and notched three of the final four points for a 26-24 win.
 
Ohio State used a 4-1 run in the fifth set to open up a 7-4 edge and although Loyola was able to cut that deficit to one (7-6), the Buckeyes never relinquished the lead on the way to a 15-11 victory to claim the match.
 
A Look at the Numbers

• Denton led Loyola with 17 kills, hitting .343 (17-5-35), and adding six digs and a half-dozen blocks.
• The Ramblers also got 11 kills, six digs and five rejections from Brooks.
• Loyola totaled 13.5 blocks as a team and hit 317 (48-16-101) for the match.
• Siapanis notched a double-double for Ohio State, finishing with 15 kills and 10 digs.

 
Up Next
The Ramblers and Buckeyes finish up their two-match series tomorrow at 3 p.m. CT with a match that will be streamed on BTN+.