Men’s Volleyball Completes Weekend Sweep of Queens

In their penultimate regular season game, the No. 13 Loyola men’s volleyball team defeated Queens University of Charlotte March 30 in three sets (25-22, 25-15, 25-22). The win cemented the full Easter weekend sweep of the Royals, who fell to the Ramblers two nights before.

“They did some different things, they had a personnel change, and with that comes different energy on the court,” head coach John Hawks said. “I feel like we took care of business.”

Redshirt third-year outside hitter Parker Van Buren opened the game with a quick kill off an assist from third-year setter Dan Mangun. First-year Queens outside hitter Chance Shampine responded by sneaking a ball past the Loyola defense and tying the game 1-1.

Fourth-year middle blocker Jimmy Meinhart’s two kills and an ace put the Ramblers up 4-2. Back-to-back service errors from both teams made it 6-4.

Every player on both teams touched the ball in a back-and-forth rally that resulted in a kill by fourth-year Royals middle hitter Sterling Sims. Another kill from third-year Royal outside hitter Matthew Pilch and an attack error from first-year outside hitter Jake Read tied the game at 11.

Heads-up play and a service error from Sims gave Loyola their lead back, holding steady at 15-12. Out of a timeout, Queens struck once more and tied the game at 17 with an ace from Pilch and a kill from Shampine. 

After Van Buren and graduate Queens outside hitter Jack Brinkman traded kills, Mangun punctuated a rally with a commanding kill, making it 19-18.

A few plays later, Hawks successfully challenged what was called an attack error on Van Buren and ended any momentum the Royals had churned up. A kill from Van Buren off a Mangun assist ended the first set 25-22 in Loyola’s favor.

A Mangun serve opened the second set, and a running attack from Queens’ Brinkman was blocked by Meinhart, giving Loyola the first point of the set.

Two kills by Read and an ace from Mangun shot the Ramblers to an early 4-0 lead. 

On the next play, a Read net violation led to a string of plays in Queens’ favor, including an ace from Sims and a return error from Read, giving the Royals their first lead of the game at 5-4.

Van Buren tied the set at five with a kill, but two back-to-back blocks from graduate Royals middle blocker Shaphar Grant put them ahead once again. 

After back-and-forth scoring, a Van Buren serve and miscommunication in Queens’ backcourt gave Loyola the lead at 9-8 — and they wouldn’t let go. A kill by first-year outside hitter Daniel Fabikovic and two more from Van Buren gave the Ramblers a 13-9 lead.

The two teams traded service errors out of a timeout, but a Mangun ace and assist to Fabikovic kept the hurt on Queens as Loyola led 20-11. 

Both Shampine and Brinkman tried to breathe life into the Royals with kills late in the set, but it wasn’t enough as Van Buren got the final kill once more, ending the set 25-15. 

The third set opened with a service error from Queens’ Pilch. Brinkman and Read traded kills before a Mangun ace kept Loyola ahead 3-1. The teams went back and forth until an ace from Brinkman tied the set at four and a Pilch kill gave Queens the lead. A Sims kill and subsequent service error kept the set tied at six.

For the first time all match, Queens kept control of the floor. Pilch, Shampine and Brinkman each mustered kills for their team, giving Queens an 11-9 lead.

But the Ramblers continued to battle through, as third-year middle blocker Nicodemus Meyer created a block and kill to bring Loyola within one, and an ace from Read regained the lead for the Ramblers 14-13. 

Fabikovic and Van Buren each got kills on either side of the timeout, followed by two from Queens’ Sims and Pilch — keeping the Loyola lead at one.

The teams traded points until Fabikovic created two monster kills with the second even more deadly than the first, electrifying his teammates and the crowd.

A kill and subsequent ace by Pilch kept the Royals in the game, still down 21-20. Out of a Loyola timeout, three Royals blocked an attack by Read to tie it up.

Hawks called another timeout and the team regrouped, maintaining control until the end. At match point, Mangun served and Brinkman’s return attack soared out of bounds. The play was reviewed but upheld as fans started filing out, securing the set at 25-22 for Loyola.

As their second-last game of the season, Mangun — who ended the game with 38 assists — said wins like this at the end of the schedule are important.

“Two sweeps in a row, especially against the same team, is really cool,” Mangun said. “Obviously they challenged us a lot tonight, so I think coming away with two sweeps is big.”

With the win, Loyola improved to 17-9 on the season and 11-4 in conference play.

The Ramblers will play their final game of the regular season against Lewis University on Saturday, April 6 at 5 p.m. in Gentile Arena. The game can be streamed live on ESPN+.

Featured image by Lilli Malone | The Phoenix