CHICAGO -- No. 7 Loyola Chicago turned in a dominant performance at Gentile Arena, sweeping Manhattan 3-0 on Friday, Jan. 30. The Ramblers controlled the match from start to finish, hitting over .400 as a team and holding the Jaspers below .200 for the night.
The Ramblers offense was paced again by Aleksandar Sosa, who finished with 13 kills on .526 hitting, and by Josh Schellinger, who also had 13 while hitting .591. JJ Sowa led defensively with a match-high 10 digs. Setter Alex Smits Van Oyen faciliated Loyola's offense behind 32 assists.
Coach Quote: Shane Davis
"Tonight we excelled at offensive consistency, we did a good job of taking care of the serve-receive and our passers did a nice job of putting Smitty [Alex Smits Van Oyen] in position to deliver the ball. We saw a lot of different players have a lot of great opportunities and great looks which kept us in in any set, but especially at the beginning when Manhattan was playing us really close, making a lot of great plays defensively, for us to be able to get that ball back and then consistently have another good rip to win some of those rallies."
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Ramblers earned a set-one victory, 25-15, powered by a solid performance on the attacking end. Loyola put together a .400 attack percentage with 13 kills in the set victory. The Ramblers ended on a strong note, posting 4.5 blocks and stretching their lead to its largest point in the set to finish out the stanza.
SET 2 | Loyola continued to roll after a set-one win by securing a 25-19 victory in the second. The Ramblers took control of the set lead early on at 2-1 and never trailed, leading by as many as seven points at 24-17 before finishing off the set, totaling 16 kills in the process.
SET 3 | The Maroon and Gold closed the match in a 3-0 sweep after winning set three 25-16. Loyola took a 1-0 lead and never looked back. The team ended on a high note, claiming its biggest lead, nine points, to close out the set. The Ramblers' offense also got a boost from three aces in the frame, two from Aidan Klein and one from Schellinger.
Inside the Box Score
- Klein marked a career-high four aces.
- Loyola out-blocked Manhattan 7-2.
- Schellinger's 13 kills was a season-high.
Up Next
The Ramblers run it back in Gentile Arena tomorrow night, Jan. 31, against the UC San Diego Tritons at 7 p.m.
