CHICAGO (January 27, 2023)
 
In Short…
The 11th-ranked Loyola men's volleyball team improved to 6-0 after outlasting Maryville 32-30 in the fourth set, capturing a 3-1 victory (25-8, 25-13, 21-25, 32-30) over the Saints Friday evening in Gentle Arena. Josh Gottlieb finished with 16 kills and career-high six aces, while Nick Martinski posted a career-high 13 to lead the Ramblers. With its sixth win in a row, Loyola has now tied its fifth-best start to a season in program history.
 
How it Happened
Loyola cruised through the opening set, racing out to a 12-2 lead after Gottlieb held serve for 10 consecutive points including half of those on aces. The Ramblers hit .800 overall in the opening stanza with three kills each by Gottlieb, Martinski and Jimmy Meinhart.
 
The Ramblers continued to roll through the second set where they limited Maryville to just .038 hitting, led by four block assists recorded by Meyer. Loyola built an 11-2 lead following back-to-back kills from Meyer and Gottlieb, who put down six kills total in the second stanza, as the Maroon & Gold went ahead 2-0 in the match.
 
However, the Saints didn't go away quietly and caught early momentum in the third set to climb back into the match. After an early kill by Gottlieb, Maryville responded to the 2-0 deficit with four consecutive points to claim its first lead of the night since taking the opening point of the match. The Saints never trailed again in the set. Clinging to a one-point lead at 19-18 as Loyola tried to make a late push, Maryville rattled off six of the final nine points including a pair of aces.
 
Maryville kept the hot hand in the final set, recording five straight points for an early 5-1 advantage, but Loyola worked its way back to even the match at 11-11 thanks to back-to-back aces from Jack Yentz.

From there, the teams would trade blows in a back-and-forth battle, but the Ramblers didn't regain the lead until a kill by Brad Bell put Loyola ahead 17-16. Maryville responded to go ahead 24-21 but a service error left the door open for the Ramblers. A block from Gottlieb and Justin Ross, followed by a Gottlieb kill, evened the score at 24-24 to set up the thrilling finish.

The Ramblers got a clutch performance from Yentz down the stretch, as the redshirt junior tallied three kills to keep the set alive. He produced seven of his career-high nine total kills in the fourth frame. Then, back-to-back kills from Bell and Martinski sealed the win as the final set featured 14 ties and six lead changes.
 
Inside the Numbers

• Loyola hit .360 overall while limiting Maryville to .129 – the second-lowest mark by an opponent this season
• Loyola tied its season-best totals in aces (13) and total blocks (11.5)
• Gottlieb (6 aces) finished two aces shy of the school single-match record (8)
• Setter Brian Voight registered a career-high 39 assists
• Libero JJ Sowa gathered a career-best 13 digs
• Five different Loyola players recorded a career high in kills (Brad Bell, Nick Martinski, Vanja Petrasinovic & Justin Ross)
• Maryville's Victor Ganev led the Saints with 10 kills

Up Next
Loyola returns to Gentile Arena tomorrow night to host St. Francis Brooklyn at 6 p.m. CT.