CHICAGO (February 25, 2021)
 
In Short
Pelegrin Vargas and Vicente Ibarra tallied 17 kills apiece to lead visiting Purdue Fort Wayne (3-4, 3-4 MIVA) to a 26-24, 19-25, 25-19, 25-23 victory over No. 15 Loyola University Chicago (8-3, 4-3 MIVA) tonight at The Alfie Norville Practice Facility. The Ramblers, who played their second straight match without injured outside hitter Cole Schlothauer, dropped their third consecutive outing overall and stumbled at home for the first time in 2021.
 
How It Happened
Neither team led by more than three points in the opening set and following a kill from Vargas that moved the Mastodons ahead, 21-20, on consecutive points, Colton Brooks recorded a kill and a block as part of a 4-1 spurt that put Loyola on top, 24-22. But, the Ramblers couldn't administer the knockout punch and Purdue Fort Wayne rallied to record the final four points in a 26-24 win.
 
Back-to-back points courtesy of Mastodons errors broke an 11-11 tie and gave Loyola the advantage for good in set two. Once Purdue Fort Wayne got within 15-14, Luke Denton and Devon Joslyn sandwiched kills around a Brooks service ace to give the Ramblers some breathing room, extending the lead to 18-14 on the way to a 25-19 decision that evened the match at a set each. 
 
Loyola had possession of an 11-8 lead in the third set and after Purdue Fort Wayne cut it to 16-15, Joslyn drilled another kill to push the lead to two points. However, four unanswered tallies put the Mastodons ahead to stay en route to a 25-19 victory.
 
Once again, the Ramblers held an early lead used four blocks to open up an 11-7 advantage in set four. Purdue Fort Wayne rallied and put together a string of six unanswered points to claim a 13-11 edge and Loyola would tie the set on three occasions from that point forward, the last coming at 23-23 on an ace from Garrett Zolg. But, Vargas answered with a kill and a Loyola attack error closed out the Mastodons' 25-23 win.
 
A Look at the Numbers

• Denton produced a team-high 13 kills and has drilled 10 or more stops in 10 of Loyola's 11 matches this season.
• Joslyn and Brooks played key parts in the Ramblers' attack this evening, totaling 10 kills apiece and Jimmy Meinhart hit .800 (8-0-10) with a season-high eight kills to go with four blocks.

 
Up Next
Loyola gets an extended break and is back in action March 12 when it has a rematch with Purdue Fort Wayne at the Gates Sports Center in Fort Wayne, Ind.