COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 7 Loyola Chicago bested No. 14 Ohio State, 3-1, in front of a healthy Ramblers crowd at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, Feb. 8, powered by an electric offense and sturdy defense. The Maroon and Gold improved to 10-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play.  

"I'm extremely proud of our team's effort put forward tonight. We executed at a high level, especially at the end of sets. Shoutout to Ryan [McElligott] for setting a great offense and keeping all our hitters involved. Aidan Klein too played an incredible match," said head coach Shane Davis.  

How It Happened 
Set One: The Buckeyes started the scoring in set one, but the Ramblers responded quickly with back-to-back kills. Parker Van Buren put Loyola on the board followed by a strike from Klein, who made his second start of the season tonight. A successful challenge by Davis kept the Ramblers in rhythm and two kills in a row, from Nicodemus Meyer and Jake Read, tied the score, 6-6. With Read at the service line, and the Ramblers down one, he served up an ace for the 10-10 tie. At the media timeout, there were already seven tied scores. Ryan McElligott nailed a kill to make it 16-16 then after a Loyola timeout, the Buckeyes pulled away near the end of the frame and clinched the first, 25-21.  

Set Two: Loyola bounced back in set two, kicked off by a Van Buren kill and followed up with an ace from Daniel Fabikovic. McElligott served back-to-back aces to put the Ramblers up, 12-8, and force a Buckeyes timeout. OSU inched closer, but the Maroon and Gold maintained their momentum thanks to another kill from Klein. A triple block by Fabikovic, Meyer and McElligott kept Loyola ahead and Jackson Reed pushed it even further with an ace, extending the lead to 19-15. McElligott added another service ace to put the Ramblers one away from set point. Van Buren clinched the set, 25-20, to level the match at 1-1. 

Set Three: The Ramblers struck first on a kill from Van Buren then a triple block gave them the second point. Klein put away another kill and Read served an ace to put Loyola ahead. The 'Blers were rolling at 15-11 and maintained their lead through much of the set before the Buckeyes clawed back to close the gap, 16-16. OSU had its first lead in the third frame, 19-18, then another triple block by Loyola knotted the score. An explosive kill from Klein put the Ramblers at their first set point, but a valiant effort by the Buckeyes evened the score, 24-24. Fabikovic and Meyer jumped for a block to secure the third set, 27-25.  

Set Four: The fourth and final frame was another nailbiter that saw long rallies and both teams going back and forth to stay within one point of each other through the first 15 scores. A solo block from Fabikovic pushed Loyola ahead, 10-8, and after three straight points, OSU called a timeout. After the break, Read ran off court for a dig to keep the ball in play which was sent over by Van Buren. The Buckeyes returned with an attack but were shut down by Klein's solo block to put Loyola up, 17-12. OSU went on its own scoring run and closed the gap. Klein added a sneaky kill, for a season and career high 11, then Van Buren put the 'Blers at match point. Fabi and Klein combined for a block to clinch the match, 3-1.  

Inside the Box Score 

• Klein recorded a career high 11 kills on 23 swings, hitting .348.  
• The Ramblers recorded 20 total blocks, three solos and 17 block assists.  
• Van Buren had a team-high 20 kills and just one error on dominant .576 hitting.  

Up Next 
The Ramblers stay on the road, but closer to home, for two more MIVA matches at Quincy on Friday, Feb. 14 at 6 p.m. followed by McKendree on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.