CHARLOTTE, N.C. – No. 6 Loyola Chicago (20-2, 11-2 MIVA) took care of business on the road with a 3-0 sweep at Queens on Thursday, April 3. The Ramblers improve to 20-2 overall and 11-2 in conference play. 

"We did a great job staying disciplined and sticking to our game plan. Queens is a scrappy team, and we knew we had to stay aggressive. Our guys played with confidence, and that's the kind of energy we need to keep building on," said head coach Shane Davis.  

How It Happened 
Set One: The opening set was the closest of the three, seeing six tied scores and three lead changes. Loyola chased Queens, coming back from an 11-7 deficit and finding its first lead at 14-13. From then on it was a back-and-forth battle with the Ramblers putting up eight more kills than the Royals but a number of Loyola service and attack errors kept Queens within range. Parker Van Buren led the set with six kills and Ryan McElligott distributed 13 assists. The Ramblers tandem closed the set, 25-23, on a strike from Van Buren behind a smart setup from McElligott.  

Set Two: Loyola trailed the entire second frame before taking its first lead at 21-20. After a trio of service errors late in the set and the team down by four, McElligott sniped a kill that closed the gap, 19-16, and Van Buren followed it up with a kill of his own to inch even closer. A triple block by Van Buren, Daniel Fabikovic and Nicodemus Meyer, who matched his season-high three solo blocks, put the Ramblers within one and forced a Royals' timeout. Shortly after the break, a Queen's service error sparked Loyola on a 7-0 run, highlighted by clutch serving from Fabikovic and key kills from him, Jake Read and Van Buren, to end the set, 25-20.  

Set Three: Read carried the same momentum into the third and final frame, opening the scoring on a kill assisted by McElligott. The Ramblers ran away with it on a 6-0 streak behind Read's serving and quickly found themselves up, 16-8. Graduate student Jackson Reed subbed in to serve and went on a 3-0 run with Fabikovic clocking all three kills to extend Loyola's lead, 20-10. The Ramblers sealed the set, 25-13, on an ace delivered by Fabikovic. 

Inside the Box Score 

• Van Buren and Fabikovic were the match's kill leaders with 12 and 11, respectively. They combined for nine digs, four block assists and three assists.  
• McElligott had the match-high 34 assists and added five kills on .833 hitting, his second-best percentage of the season.  
• Brad Bell recorded seven kills on .455 hitting while adding four block assists and one service ace.  
• Read contributed seven kills, five djgs, one service ace and one block assist.  

Up Next 
The Ramblers rematch the Royals on Saturday, April 5 at 12 p.m. CT.