CHICAGO (March 13, 2022) – Loyola University Chicago Men's Volleyball wrapped up an eventful Spring Break with their last non-conference match of the season against the Wildcats of Daemen College. After four sets of play, the Ramblers ended the afternoon with a 3-1 victory over the Wildcats (25-21, 25-15, 30-28, 25-21).
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first set did not go in favor of the Ramblers. The Wildcats hung tight with Loyola throughout the entire set, even exchanging the lead at multiple points. Even with the Ramblers strong attack, it wasn't enough to secure a win as Loyola lost the first set 25-21 to Daemen. 
 
The Maroon and Gold came out with a vengeance. Loyola could not be stopped in this set as they took an early lead. Once they had it, they did not let Daemen chisel away at the lead they built. The Ramblers ultimately ended the set with a score of 25-15, putting the match at 1-1. 
 
Once they came back from the break, the two teams were neck and neck yet again. It came down to the final points of the set that extended into overtime. The Wildcats had the lead at the first set point, however, the Ramblers were not ready to call it a game. Loyola came back to close out the third set 30-28 to give them the 2-1 advantage heading into the fourth. 
 
Daemen was not ready to leave Gentile. They battled back against the Ramblers in hopes of taking this match to five. However, Loyola was having none of that. Even though the Wildcats had the lead for a good chunk of the fourth set, the Maroon and Gold clawed their way back into this match, ending 25-21 for the 3-1 win over the Wildcats. 
 
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Parker Van Buren did it again. He broke his own career record with 31 kills. In this impressive offensive performance, he hit .521, a career-best. Van Buren also ended the match with nine digs, the most he secured all season. 
• Cole Schlothauer also had a great night on offense. He racked up his third double-double of the season with 16 kills and 10 digs. 
• Garrett Zolg also added to his career double-doubles in this game. The redshirt senior finished this match with 53 assists and 12 digs, the most on the team in both categories. 
• The middles made an impact in this game. Both Andrew Lyons and Jimmy Meinhart had outstanding numbers on offense and defense. Lyons finished the match with a .462 hitting percentage, registering seven kills on 13 attempts with only one error, while Meinhart hit an even better .778, having no errors with seven kills on nine swings. Combined, these two middle blockers also added five blocks.
• Loyola had control on offense. They dominated the Wildcats when it came to the number of kills registered in this match as the Ramblers had a season-best 71 kills compared to Daemen's 49. 

UP NEXT
The Ramblers will get back to it with MIVA play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Mastodons of Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday, March 19. First serve for this game will be at 4 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available.