HONOLULU – The No. 10 Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team defeated No. 3 Hawai'i in a thrilling five-setter (18-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-23, 15-13) Friday night at SimpliFi Arena. The victory snapped Loyola Chicago's six-match skid against the Rainbow Warriors and was its first over UH since 2007.
"Just an incredible opportunity for us to be in Hawai'I, in front of a great team, and to come back after losing the way we did the first night," said head Loyola Chicago volleyball coach
John Hawks. "I just felt like it was a great character moment for us. We were resilient when we had to be and I thought we were tough and clutch in big moments,"
How it Happened
The 'Blers (1-1) lost, 25-18, in the opening set to the defending national runners-up, but rallied for a 25-22 win in set two. In the third frame, the Rainbow Warriors (1-1) again beat Loyola 25-18, but the Ramblers edged UH, 25-23, in the fourth set before finishing the fifth on a an 8-2 run to claim the match.
The Ramblers held a 3-2 advantage early in the first set after
Daniel Fabikovic laid down a kill from
Cole Schobel, capping three-straight Loyola kills. But a 7-2 UH run helped them take control of the opener. The Rainbow Warriors claimed the first set, 25-18, but the Maroon and Gold quickly regrouped in the second frame.
Parker Van Buren, who ended the night with four service aces, tallied his second to give Loyola Chicago a quick 6-4 lead in set two. Then, a 6-3 Loyola run inflated its lead to 12-7 after a pair of Hawai'i errors. Having not trailed since the 2-3 mark, Loyola rode out the set on top while Schobel's kill from
Matt Oakley ended the affair at 25-22.
Despite the Maroon and Gold hitting .529 in the third set (its best percentage of the evening), Hawai'i doubled down with its best hitting percentage of the night (.789) to help it take the third. It was a tie set at 8-8, but UH widened the gap to seven with the 25-18 win.
With the match on the line, the Ramblers shook off the loss and cruised to a 13-10 advantage in the fourth set after kills from
Jake Read, Fabikovic, and Van Buren capped a 4-1 Loyola run. After a Rainbow Warriors' service error, LUC sprinted out on an 8-2 run to make the set score, 21-14.
Seeking a four-set win, UH made it interesting after shrinking its deficit to 23-22 with a 6-1 run, but Fabikovic and Van Buren logged kills from Schobel to end the frame – forcing five sets.
The night cap was as exciting as it gets with both teams exchanging blows until the bitter end. Trailing 12-7, Loyola Chicago rallied for five-straight points to knot the match at 12-12. Hawai'i's Alaka'i Todd posted a kill in an attempt to end the Loyola sprint, but the Ramblers finished off the Rainbow Warriors with three-straight points, including one kill from Read, to win the set and match.
Notes
- The win marked Loyola's first over UH since Jan. 26, 2007, and ended a six-game losing streak to the Rainbow Warriors.
- The last time Loyola beat a top-10 team in its first two matches of a season was Jan. 5, 2018, when LUC beat No. 3 BYU
- Loyola's last win over a top-5 team was Jan. 18, 2019, when the Ramblers beat No. 5 Pepperdine.
- Loyola ended the night hitting .310 and had 53 kills while UH hit .469 and had 66.
- Van Buren led the 'Blers with 20 kills on 39 swings. He added four aces and four blocks as well.
- Fabikovic had 13 kills on 24 swings and hit .417 to pace the squad.
- Schobel notched 37 assists in the setter position while totaling a match-high nine digs, sniffing a double-double.
Up Next
The Ramblers' will regroup and continue its gauntlet on the mainland against No. 8 Stanford Sunday (Jan. 7) and Monday (Jan. 8). First serve is set for 7 p.m. CT for both matches.
"We respect Stanford and everything that they have, who they have, and the coaching staff. Tomorrow, we're going to be on them - watch the video, hit the practice gym, and just try to get a little bit better."
