CHICAGO – The No. 12 Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team defeated No. 20 McKendree in straight sets (25-22, 25-13, 26-24) en route to its sixth-straight win Saturday night inside Gentile Arena. Parker Van Buren racked up a match-high 16 kills and Jimmy Meinhart hit .700 in the win. Prior to today, the two teams were tied for third place in the MIVA. With the win, Loyola now sits No. 2 in the league.

"I've said it before many times, but anytime you get a conference win, it's good," said Loyola head coach John Hawks after the win. "When they're tied with us in conference play, it's nice to get a little separation there. We knew McKendree would be prepared. So, I felt like the staff put together a great game plan for the guys and the guys executed it flawlessly. Just the effort in the back row, the guys defensively, us being able to side out on some of their tough servers. I feel like that's a great team, and I just loved our resilience."

How it Happened
Leading the entire first set, Loyola (14-8, 8-3 MIVA) was in front, 9-5, after a 7-1 run.  Daniel Fabikovic sparked another run with a kill from Dan Mangun, this time a 4-0 Loyola stretch, to make the score 15-9. The Bearcats (13-7, 7-4 MIVA) started to pick things up after the media timeout, using a 6-1 run to bring themselves within two points (19-17) of LUC. But, with Parker Van Buren and Jake Read posting six kills each through the set, the Ramblers secured a 25-22 set win.

The Maroon and Gold dominated the second set, limiting the Bearcats to just 13 points and 10 kills. A 3-0 Loyola run helped it win the race to 15 points after Read's kill, Mangun's ace, and a McKendree error. The Bearcats had Loyola within six points at 19-13 but the 'Blers scored six straight points - with Fabikovic serving - to end the set, 25-13.

Searching for the sweep, Loyola used a 5-1 run to take an 11-8 lead after being tied, 7-7. The Bearcats made it a one-point affair at 13-12 but back-to-back kills via Van Buren and Read cushioned Loyola's lead back to three (15-12). Battling back-and-forth through the remainder of the set, Loyola had a chance to put McKendree away after Read's kill from Mangun gave the Ramblers set point at 24-22. However, the Bearcats made things interesting, scoring two-straight to level the set at 24-24. LUC benefited off McKendree's service error on the ensuing point before Fabikovic ended the affair by slamming down a kill from Mangun at 25-24.

Notes

• Loyola hit .449 though the match, its second-straight match hitting north of .400.
  • Loyola's .449 hitting percentage marks its third-best of the season.
• Prior to tonight, the Bearcats had been swept just twice in 2024.
• The sweep marked Loyola's seventh of the season.
• Fabikovic had six digs in the first set alone, he finished with nine, a career-high.
• Three Ramblers logged three blocks in the win: Nicodemus Meyer, Fabikovic, and Meinhart.
• JJ Sowa posted 14 digs, one shy of tying his career-high.
• Read logged 15 kills, also one shy of tying his career-high.
• Meinhart hit .700 with seven kills on 10 swings.

Up Next
The Ramblers return to action on the road against Quincy this Thursday (March 16). First serve is set for 7 p.m. CT. Fans can watch the action live on Quincy's athletics' website.