QUINCY, Ill. – Hitting .559, the No. 11 Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team beat Quincy for the second time in as many weeks, sprinting past the Hawks in straight sets (25-15, 25-16, 25-16) Thursday night on the road. The sweep marked Loyola's eighth of 2024 as the 'Blers improve to 15-8 overall and 9-3 in MIVA play.

"We came out an early lead in that first set which put them on their heels," said Loyola head coach John Hawks. "I felt like we just dug some balls, the guys executed the game plan, and we really just jumped on them early which gave us a chance to compete,"

How it Happened
The Ramblers (15-8, 9-3 MIVA) began the onslaught by exploding out of the gates on a 7-1 run. Daniel Fabikovic's kill from Dan Mangun sparked another 3-0 Loyola stretch shortly thereafter, inflating the advantage to 15-5. After Quincy (5-14, 1-11 MIVA) registered four-straight points midway through the set, the Maroon and Gold buckled down for a 6-1 run, which included four Hawks' errors and two LUC kills, to take a 24-14 lead at set point. Parker Van Buren laid down the set-winner from Mangun, sealing the 25-15 set one win.

Cruising, the Ramblers jumped out to another early lead in the second frame after taking a 12-6 lead. Loyola Chicago won the race to 15 points after a quick 3-0 sprint. The run included Van Buren's kill and Jake Read's ace before Jimmy Meinhart's solo block capped the stretch. The Hawks came within six points of Loyola (19-13) after scoring four-straight but Nicodemus Meyer put an end to the retaliation with a kill from Cole Schobel. The 'Blers reached set point after a 3-0 run before Schobel gave LUC the 2-0 lead with his kill from JJ Sowa.

The Hawks scored the first point of the third and final set but that would be their only lead of the outing as Loyola raced out to a 6-2 lead. Two kills, from Van Buren and Read, helped Loyola inflate its edge to 11-5 before Quincy began to go point for point with the 'Blers. Unable to string multiple points together though, Quincy fell behind Loyola, 21-13, after Miller Trubey posted a kill from Schobel. Two Quincy service errors ended the set and match at 25-16.

Notes

• Loyola hit a staggering .559 through the match, its second-best clip of the season.
• Six Ramblers logged a solo block in the win, a season-high.
• Van Buren led with 11 kills on 12 swings as he hit an outstanding .917.
• Read was close behind with 10 kills on 13 swings, hitting .615. He also posted five aces at the helm.
• Mangun posted a match-high 27 assists.

Up Next
Loyola will stay on the road and face No. 18 McKendree this Saturday (March 23) in its final regular season road match. First serve is set for 5 p.m. CT on GLVCSN.