LONG BEACH, Calif. -- In its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and first-ever Regional Final, No. 9 Loyola Chicago fell in straight sets to No. 2 Long Beach State in the Walter Pyramid on Saturday, May 2.
Grad student Josh Schellinger and junior opposite Aleksandar Sosa led the Ramblers' offense with 14 kills apiece on .500 and .347 hitting, respectively. Sosa was an all-around unit, anchoring the defense with a team-high six digs, matching his season-best. Loyola out-blocked Long Beach State 6-4, paced by rookie Oskar Berg Mikkelsen with four.
Coach Quote:
"Congratulations to Long Beach tonight, they're an incredible team. I'm super proud of my guys and our seniors, and how we battled tonight. It was great to be back in the tournament again this year and get that first win since 2015. A bigger piece of that is to allow these guys to have that experience, and the sucess of that experience in the NCAA Tournament. Compounding that from last year to this year, and this is a program that's going to continue to grow, and expect ourselves to be in the tournament and expect ourselves to win those matches and continue the success."
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Beach started the scoring in set one, which saw 11 tied scores. The Ramblers held the advantage a few times throughout but had trouble against the No. 1 serving team in the country. Loyola grabbed a quick 12-11 lead after a relentless defensive effort from Fabikovic, who found the back corner a few points later. Schellinger and Sosa were explosive for the Ramblers, combining for 10 kills on .465 hitting. Long Beach State closed the opener, 25-21, on a 4-1 run.
SET 2 | Long Beach State took the first point of the second set and carried the lead throughout most of the frame. Loyola's defense was on point, putting up 4.5 blocks in the frame, but it wasn't enough to limit Long Beach State, who took its largest lead of the match at 22-15. The Ramblers clawed back as Sosa spiked through the teeth of the defense to stave off the first set point. Junior pin Jake Read followed it up with a solo stuff to hold the Beach off another time, but the host team prevailed for a 25-21 victory and a 2-0 lead.
SET 3 | Loyola struggled from the service line all night, especially in the third frame, giving up eight points to errors. Read was the sparkplug off the bench for the Ramblers, starting the final set and recording a perfect reception percentage on 10 attempts. The stanza saw nail-biting rallies and diving plays on both sides, but Loyola couldn't outlast Long Beach State, who clinched the match with a 25-19 win.
Inside the Box Score
- Berg Mikkelsen made his first start since March 26 after sitting out due to injury. Tonight's match marked Loyola's first in 2026 with a healthy starting lineup (Berg Mikkelsen, Sosa, Ryan McElligott and Schellinger).
- Schellinger and Sosa each recorded their 13th match of the season with double-digit kills.
- Sosa matched his season-high six digs.
- Klein recorded the Ramblers' sole ace of the match for his 28th of the season.
Loyola's NCAA Tournament run comes to an end with a 21-9 overall record, the program's 16th 20+ win season since its inception in 1996.
