CHICAGO -- No. 8 Loyola Chicago tallied a .456. hitting clip en route to a three-set sweep over No. 9 Ball State on Thursday, March 5 inside Gentile Arena. The Ramblers improved to 11-4 overall and 5-1 in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) play. 

Junior outside Daniel Fabikovic paced Loyola's offense, finishing with 13 kills on .409 hitting and added six digs to lead the defense. Redshirt sophomore Tyler Howard recorded back-to-back matches with double-digit kills (10). 

Coach Quote: Shane Davis
All match we were doing a good job of staying aggressive. There's aggressiveness versus carelessness, and we did a nice job of putting on the pressure. Having guys come in and make plays in big moments was huge for us, like Lukas [Anderson] coming in late in the third set and serving that ace. It tests us, and that's exactly what we want. It was awesome to prevail in those moments."

"My first year was fall of 1998 and the program started in '96, so it's really cool to be associated with every alum that has come through the program. Being able to lead and coach a program that has so much success and such great people means everything, it's my family."

How It Happened
SET 1 | The Ramblers won the first point and never trailed to secure the first set 25-21. Loyola led by as many as five points at 17-12 before closing out the set. The Ramblers supplemented their offense with three aces in the opening set. 

SET 2 | Loyola won the second set 25-21 to jump to a 2-0 lead, earning the set victory thanks to a .682 attack percentage with 17 kills in the frame. After the lead changed hands two times, the Ramblers took control for good at 16-15 and rode the advantage to victory.

SET 3 | The Ramblers won the set 26-24 thanks to another strong performance on the attacking end, led by Fabikovic with six kills on .400 hitting. Down at 23-21, Anderson came in to serve and added an ace to get Loyola's momentum going. Fabikovic closed out the match with three kills in a row to secure the win. 

Inside the Box Score

• Grad student Josh Schellinger had a team-high two aces in the win.
• Fabikovic had the match-high 13 kills and six digs. 
• Rambler attackers were helped by a match-high 36 assists from senior setter Ryan McElligott.

Up Next 
Loyola hosts No. 19 Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday, March 7 at 7 p.m. in the Ramblers' 30th anniversary celebration.