CHICAGO – After an intense battle that went the distance, the No. 10 Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team lost in five sets (25-19, 24-26, 27-25, 22-25, 13-15) to No. 9 BYU Thursday night at Gentile Area. The Ramblers were led by Parker Van Buren's 24 kills and Cole Schobel's 49 assists.

"We let set two get away from us and missed way too many serves," said head Loyola Chicago coach John Hawks. "You can't do that against a good team. You must serve tough, but you also must make them play. BYU is a good team, so I'm just frustrated. We have to have guys step up and make some plays at the right times."

BYU (3-0,0-0 MPSF) took the first point of the match off an LUC (1-4,0-0 MIVA) error, but the Ramblers shook it off and used a 7-2 run, which was capped by Jake Read's service ace, to take an 8-4 lead in the first set. Later in the frame, BYU came within one point (18-17) of Loyola after an ace, but a quick 5-0 Rambler run helped LUC keep its distance down the stretch. A BYU service error gave the 'Blers set point at 24-19 before Jimmy Meinhart and Fabikovic teamed up for a block to end the set in Loyola's favor.   

Set two belonged to BYU, despite the visitors hitting .100 with nine kills while Loyola hit .200 and totaled 14. After Loyola led the set, 13-10, thanks to a 4-1 run, BYU embarked on a 5-1 run of its own to claim a 14-13 edge. The Maroon and Gold regained their advantage after Van Buren's kill from Schobel made the score 19-17, LUC. From there, the two teams went back-and-forth until the set was locked, 24-24. A Loyola error and a Cougar kill ended the set, 26-24.

After trailing 19-13 in the third frame, it looked as if BYU was going to post back-to-back set wins. However, the 'Blers dug deep and turned in a 6-1 run, aided by back-to-back aces from Miller Trubey, to come within one point of the Cougars (20-19). The Ramblers held the momentum and went on another massive run (7-2) to end the set. Van Buren and Read's kills finished off BYU, 27-25.

In the fourth and fifth sets though, BYU came alive, combining for 28 kills while hitting .397. Loyola Chicago, who posted 20 kills and hit .261 in the last two sets, did hold a 6-4 lead in the fifth frame after Fabikovic's kill from Ryan McElligott. But a 4-1 BYU run gave them a 11-10 lead. LUC tied the set, 13-13, thanks to Van Buren's kill from Schobel, but the Cougars posted three-straight points, including two kills, to end the set and win the match.

Notes

• Loyola had one more kill (62-61) than BYU though the evening.
• The Ramblers hit .295 while BYU hit .294.
• The 'Blers had nine aces while the Cougars had five.
• Van Buren led with 24 kills on 49 swings.
• Fabikovic hit .432 and posted 19 kills on 37 swings.
• Schobel led Loyola with 45 assists.

Up Next
The Ramblers play host to defending national champions, No. 1 UCLA, Saturday (Jan. 13) inside Gentile. First serve is set for 7 p.m. CT with the match streaming live on ESPN+.