CHICAGO – The No. 10 Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team battled its sixth-straight ranked foe Saturday night inside Gentile Arena and nearly completed a reverse sweep of No. 14 Ball State, but ultimately fell after forcing five sets (16-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-18, 11-15).  

"It was a nice crowd, let me start with that," said Loyola head coach John Hawks after the loss. "I'm disappointed that we couldn't come out of the gates a little bit better. I don't know if it's credit to Ball State or just the fact that we're tired. Our guys have had a lot of reps, a lot of passes and serves, and there are midterms. I can give them all the excuses, but, you know, I think true competitors don't want that."

How it Happened
It looked as if Ball State (11-7, 4-1 MIVA) was going to escape Rogers Park with a straight set victory over Loyola (8-7, 3-2 MIVA) after winning the first two sets, 25-16 and 25-23, respectively. The Ramblers, with their backs against the wall, had other plans though and thundered back for a 25-22 win in set three. The win began after the 'Blers fought back from being down 6-3 before a 4-1 LUC stretch, thanks to four BSU errors, tied the set at 9-9.

Back-to-back kills from Jack Yentz, appearing in his eighth match of the season, posted back-to-back kills from Dan Mangun to give Loyola its first lead of the set at 13-12. Then, Colton Brooks aided in a quick 3-0 Loyola run with two kills from Mangun, giving Loyola an 18-15 edge. Down the stretch at 22-21, Ball State came within a point of Loyola, but the Ramblers ended the set on a 3-1 run to extend the match to at least four frames.

Loyola hit .320 in the fourth set while limiting BSU to just .185. The 'Blers took control with a big 5-0 run to make the score 16-9. Miller Trubey posted two aces and a kill through the stretch. An error from by the Cardinals capped a 4-1 LUC run - giving Loyola a 21-14 edge. Then, two more BSU errors ended the set at 25-18 as Loyola entered its fifth five-setter of the year.

Nicodemus Meyer and Yentz combined for two-straight kills to tie the fifth set, 5-5, but BSU followed with a 3-0 run which the Ramblers were unable to overcome. Two kills from the Cardinals ended the set, 15-11, and the match.

Notes

• Loyola ended the night hitting .257 while BSU hit .304.
• Parker Van Buren led Loyola with 13 kills while Trubey and Yentz added nine each.
• Brooks posted eight kills on 16 swings.
• Meyer hit a team-best .462 after logging seven kills on 13 swings. He registered five blocks, another team-high.
• Mangun logged a season-high 32 assists.
• Matt Oakley garnered nine digs, a match-high.

Up Next
The Maroon and Gold are next in action this coming Friday and Saturday (Feb. 23-24) for two road matches at Lindenwood. First serve is set for 7 p.m. CT both nights.