CHICAGO (January 13, 2023)
 
In Short…
Cole Schlothauer (Mechanicsville, Va.) tallied a match-high 14 kills and Parker Van Buren (Cross Plains, Wis.) added 13 to lead 12th-ranked Loyola (3-0) to a sweep (25-20, 26-24, 25-18) over UC San Diego (1-3) Friday evening in front of 1,403 fans at Gentile Arena. Setter Dan Mangun (Joliet, Ill.) dished out 34 assists and registered a team-high seven digs. The Ramblers closed the season-opening homestand with three consecutive wins in straight sets.
 
How it Happened
Loyola rarely fell behind and never trailed by more than two points on the night. The Ramblers jumped out to a 13-9 lead in the first set after a kill by Schlothauer and kept momentum to claim a 1-0 match lead. As the visitors pulled within three at 23-20, Van Buren sealed the opening set with a kill followed by an ace for the final point.
 
The second set featured a tight back-and-forth battle with 10 lead changes and 21 tied scores, but the Ramblers fended off the Tritons for the crucial two-set lead in the contest. UC San Diego claimed a two-point lead at 16-14 following a blocking error. However, Loyola quickly tied it up at 16-16, after a kill by libero Matt Oakley (Carlsbad, Calif.) off a serve receive that landed safely over the net, and a huge block from Mangun and Jimmy Meinhart (Glen Ellyn, Ill.).
 
The teams would remain even until Van Buren and Jack Yentz (Sun Prairie, Wis.) each gave the Maroon & Gold set-point opportunities at 24-23 and 25-24, respectively. Eventually an attacking error from UC San Diego clinched the set for the Ramblers. Van Buren put down six kills in the second stanza while the Ramblers totaled four blocks, led by Nicodemus Meyer (Franklin, Wis.) at at the net.
 
Loyola controlled the final set and never trailed after racing out to a 12-5 advantage. The Tritons made a run to climb back within two points, 13-11, midway through the frame, but the Ramblers responded quickly with a 5-0 run of their own as Schlothauer held serve to extend the lead back out to seven points at 18-11. Loyola hit an impressive .579 (14-2-22) in the third set with five kills from Schlothauer and three each by Meyer and Van Buren.
 
Inside the Numbers

• Loyola posted a season-high .400 overall team hitting percentage
• Yentz and Meyer both tallied five kills while Meinhart finished with three
• UC San Diego hit .280 overall as a team
• Schlothauer and Van Buren each produced four service aces, accounting for all but one ace in the match
• The Ramblers totaled nine aces compared to four by Tritons
• Loyola also recorded an advantage in blocks with seven total and only four from the visitors
• UC San Diego's Ryan Ka led the visitors with 13 kills

Up Next
Loyola will hit the road for its first road test next week against NJIT (Jan. 20) and LIU (Jan. 21).