CHICAGO (March 4, 2022) – The Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team was back at home in Gentile as they worked to finish the first half of MIVA play at the top of the conference. Following a three-set match against the Mastodons of Purdue Fort Wayne, the Ramblers were able to make that happen. Tonight's match ended in the best way possible for Loyola as they swept Purdue Fort Wayne (25-21, 25-20, 25-20) to wrap up the first half of the conference schedule with a 6-1 record. 
 
FROM HEAD COACH MARK HULSE
"I'm really pleased with the result," Hulse said, "This is the front half of conference. Now we just have a couple of non-conference games here before we're back at it."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Ramblers came out strong in the first set. Although this tough Mastodon team fought tooth and nail with Loyola, they were not able to grab the lead. The Maroon and Gold got hot in the last five points to push ahead of Purdue Fort Wayne. This resulted in a 25-21 win to start the match for the Ramblers. 
 
From there, Loyola kept that same momentum. They grabbed the lead early in the second set off a service run from Parker Van Buren, giving Loyola a cushion heading towards the end of the set. Although the Mastodons fought back, it wasn't enough to come out with the win as they lost the second set 25-20. 
 
When the teams came back on the court for the third set, it was Purdue Fort Wayne who took control. After a tactical timeout from Coach Hulse when the Mastodons were up by four, the Ramblers came back onto the court ready to go. They ended up squeezing past the Purdue Fort Wayne towards the end of the third set on kills from Van Buren and Andrew Lyons. Cole Schlothauer sealed the game with a service ace on game point to give Loyola a 25-20 win in the third and final set. 
 
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Van Buren did it again for the Ramblers in the front row. He led all players on the court with 16 kills while hitting an impressive .464 from the right side. He also made the biggest impact from the service line as he racked up two aces.
• The middle blocks were the most effective attackers. Lyons and Ben Montplaisir made no errors on their hitting tonight, accumulating a total of 11 kills. Lyons ended the night with seven while Montplaisir had four. 
• Commanding the offense was none other than Zolg. The redshirt senior finished the night with 32 assists while also contributing seven digs. 
• Also helping out in the back row was Schlothauer. The outside hitter playing in the middle back position finished the night with seven digs to tie Zolg for the most on the team. 
• When it came to the team's blocking, Lyons had the best night. He ended with three blocks, one of which was a solo block. Henry Payne added to the efforts as he had two blocks of his own. 
• Looking at both teams, the Ramblers' offense was more efficient than the Mastodons. Loyola hit .375 on the night while Purdue Fort Wayne hit .236. Along with that, Loyola's serving was nearly perfect at 95.9 percent efficiency while the Mastodons only had 79 percent efficiency from the back line.

 
UP NEXT
The Ramblers have no time to waste as they prepare for their next match in less than 24 hours. Loyola will play host to Emmanuel College, who lost to No. 11 Lewis 3-0. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. tomorrow, March 5. A live stream will be available on ESPN+. Live stats will also be available for this game.