Men’s Volleyball Tames the Matadors in Five-Set Thriller

The eighth-ranked Loyola men’s volleyball team defeated No. 7 California State University, Northridge in five sets March 22 in Gentile Arena. Redshirt fourth-year outside Parker Van Buren led the Ramblers with 19 kills, while redshirt second-year opposite Jalen Phillips carried the Matadors with 17 kills. 

The first set started with kills by both sides — first-year middle blocker Stilian Delibosov for CSUN and Van Buren for Loyola. A four-point Rambler sparked by second-year outside Daniel Fabikovic and Van Buren along with a block by fourth-year middle blocker Nicodemus Meyer made it 5-2. 

Second-year outside Jake Read tabbed his first kill of the night, followed by two kills each from Phillips and Van Buren. A Rambler block by third-year middle blocker Brad Bell and Meyer extended the 12-7 lead. 

Matador fourth-year outside Lorenzo Bertozzi and second-year middle blocker Nir Eitan secured a block while fourth-year setter Donovan Constable grabbed a kill. Meyer responded with a kill before Bertozzi and Eitan tabbed two kills to cut into Loyola’s 14-12 lead.

Three Rambler kills by third-year setter Ryan McElligott, Van Buren and Fabikovic were countered with a kill from redshirt first-year outside Hank Kaufman. Three kills by Van Buren and Meyer gave the Ramblers set point before the two combined for a block to close out the first set 25-22. 

Both teams suffered from service errors, with Loyola recording 32 and CSUN missing 27 serves over five sets. 

The Matadors came out in the second set with kills by Phillips and Bertozzi before Van Buren and Bell added one block. Meyer tabbed a kill and an ace while multiple errors by each side put Loyola up 7-6, and kills were traded between McElligott and Constable.

Back-to-back kills by Bertozzi and Van Buren were followed with a McElligott ace. Meyer clinched a kill and the Matadors responded with kills by Bertozzi and Delibosov. Bell recorded a kill and McElligott followed with a block, but Delibosov countered with a strong kill to tie at 18. 

Van Buren and Delibosov swapped points before the Ramblers tied things at 22 with a kill by Fabikovic and a Meyer block. After crawling back 25-24, the Ramblers were called for an illegal substitution — allowing the Matadors to take set two 25-23. 

The third set started with kills traded between Read and Bertozzi. Meyer grabbed a block just before the Matadors went on a five-point run — with kills from Constable, Phillips and a backline kill from Kaufman. Two kills each from Van Buren and Bell tied the set at eight.

Bertozzi tallied two kills before Delibosov served up an ace, and Bell responded with an ace of his own while Eitan and Van Buren swapped kills. A kill and solo block from Meyer followed, bringing CSUN’s lead to 23-21. 

Despite the Matador lead, the Ramblers walked away with a 25-23 third set victory after two Matador errors and a McElligott block.

The fourth set opened with a kill and a block from Phillips before the Ramblers contributed three consecutive kills — a backrow attack from Read and a line shot followed by an overpass by Fabikovic — to bring the score to four points apiece. 

McElligott earned an ace before Read took a block and Kaufman responded with a kill. A Van Buren kill, a block and kill from Kaufman and a kill and solo block by second-year middle blocker Aidan Klein extended the Rambler’s lead to 12-9. 

Read clinched a backline kill before the Matadors followed with two kills from Kaufman and Phillips, who continued strong offensive production with two service aces and traded kills with McElligott to close the 20-19 gap.

Blocks from CSUN first-year outside Boaz Serson and Kaufman secured the fourth set 25-23 for the Matadors. 

In the game’s fifth set, the Matadors started strong with two kills by first-year middle blocker Joao Favarim and Phillips. In response, the Ramblers earned kills from Read and Fabikovic — alongside a Klein service ace and Meyer block — to grab an 8-5 lead.

A Fabkovic block was rebutted by a Kaufman kill, and redshirt fourth-year middle blocker Ben Montplaisir and Bertozzi traded kills. Loyola’s lead extended to 13-11 after McElligott earned a kill following an unsuccessful Matador challenge.

Phillips grabbed two kills before the Ramblers went on a six-point run with kills from McElligott, Montplaisir and Van Buren. Delibosov secured a block, but Van Buren came through with a game-winning kill and block to clinch the win for the Ramblers at 18-16. 

Van Buren said despite the match having no impact on conference play, the team’s mindset remained the same. 

“Right now we are very focused on conference play and doing well in MIVA,” Van Buren said. “When we have someone coming in that’s ranked higher than us, that means something to us. The mindset is pretty much the same, we wanted to get them just like we want to get every team in MIVA.” 

Van Buren and the Ramblers return to conference play and take on Lindenwood Thursday, March 27 at 7 p.m. in Gentile Arena. The game can be streamed on Marquee Sports Network.