ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Redshirt junior Parker Van Buren surpassed 1,000-career kills Friday night in the No. 12 Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team's 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 24-26, 27-29) loss at Lindenwood. Van Buren is the 14^th Rambler in program history to reach the milestone.

"I just think it's a tremendous accomplishment to get 1,000 kills in a career – it's fantastic," said Loyola head coach John Hawks after the loss. "And to do it with another year left of eligibility is phenomenal. I know Parker would trade it for a win any day, but he's a tremendous team player and has a bright future."

How it Happened
The opening set was a back-and-forth affair with neither team holding more than a two-point lead until Lindenwood, on a three-point stretch, garnered a block, giving themselves a 19-16 lead and forcing a Rambler timeout. The Maroon and Gold winded the deficit back to two points after a Lion's error made their lead 22-20. But a kill and back-to-back Loyola errors ended the first set in LWU's favor.

Lindenwood won the race to 15 points in the second set after AJ Lewis' kill. Not far behind though, Loyola gained the advantage after two-straight points, including a kill from Jimmy Meinhart, made it a 16-15 game. Then, Van Buren sparked a 4-1 Loyola run after his kill from Ryan McElligott, helping Loyola take control at set point, 24-21. Meinhart posted the set-winning kill from McElligott, leveling that match at 1-1.

LWU hit .485 while Loyola hit .419 in the third game. Lindenwood claimed a 15-11 lead midway through the set and held a 24-21 edge at set point. Loyola Chicago nearly took led the match after scoring three-straight points, including a pair of Van Buren kills, to tie the set, 24-24. However, the Lions scored the final to points, winning the fourth frame.

It was an epic, tightly contested fourth and final frame with the two teams reaching a nail-biting score of 27-27. The home team prevailed though as it scored the last two points (a kill and an LUC error) to finish the set in its favor.

Notes

• Van Buren is the 14th player in program history to record 1,000-plus career kills. The last Rambler to do so was Collin Mahan on March 1, 2019, vs. No. 10 Lewis.
• Loyola hit .441 through the match and limited LWU to .389.
• Van Buren garnered 21 kills through the match, a season-high.
• McElligott assisted on 49 kills, tying his career-high.
• Nicodemus Meyer led at the net with four blocks, a match-high.
• Matt Oakley found eight digs for the team-high.
• Daniel Fabikovic hit .520 with 15 kills on 25 swings for a new career-best.

Up Next
The two squads return to action in the series closer tomorrow (Feb. 24). First serve is set for 7 p.m. with the match streaming live on Lindenwood's website.