CHICAGO – The No. 13 Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team won in straight sets (25-13, 25-17, 25-21) against first year MIVA member, Queens, Thursday night inside Gentile Arena. The Ramblers hit .458 in the win while Parker Van Buren and Daniel Fabikovic led all with 13 kills each.

"Our first conference win against Queens is great. I'm happy that we were hitting some good numbers," said Loyola head coach John Hawks after the win. "It really felt like [Queens] made some plays – we probably could have had another five, six, or 10 kills, and hit closer to .700, but I feel like they played hard. They made us play and challenged us in some unique ways. I'm glad that we got the win and I'm proud of the guys for their perseverance."

How it Happened
Queens took the first point of the match after Matthew Pinch's kill, but the Maroon and Gold responded by exploding out of the gates on a 7-2 run. The 'Blers won the race to 15 points after a 3-0 Loyola run as Van Buren and Fabikovic combined for back-to-back kills to end the stretch, making the score 15-8, LUC. Coming out of the media break, Queens notched a kill to make Loyola's lead five, however, Loyola Chicago ended the set on a 6-1 run to win the opener. Jimmy Meinhart's kill from Dan Mangun proved to be the set-winner at 25-13.

The Royals and 'Blers battled to a 9-9 deadlock in the second set before three-straight Queens' errors helped the Ramblers to a 12-9 edge. Later, Nicodemus Meyer and Mangun teamed up for a massive block at the net to put the Maroon and Gold up 16-13 before a 5-0 LUC stretch helped Loyola reach set point. Van Buren posted the set-winner from Mangun at 25-17 as LUC took a 2-0 lead in the match.

Queens hit a match-best .286 in the third and final set and owned a narrow 5-4 lead over the Ramblers early. Loyola Chicago hung tight and used a 3-0 run, capped by Jake Read's kill, to regain the advantage at 7-5. Back-and-forth through the remainder of the frame, the two teams found themselves tied, 21-21, after a Royals' kill. With Meyer at the helm serving, LUC buckled down ended the match on a 4-0 run to win the set and match at 25-21.

Notes

• The Ramblers had 42 kills through the match while Queens had 28.
• Loyola's serve produced six aces.
• Van Buren hit .611 after registering 13 kills on 21 swings.
• Mangun logged a match-high 34 assists.
• Lukas Anderson subbed in for two aces, a match-high.
• JJ Sowa owned a match-high five digs.

Up Next
The two teams will run it back this Saturday (March 30) inside Gentile Arena. First serve is set for 2 p.m. with the action streaming live on ESPN+.