The Ramblers’ home opener was spoiled by the Waves.
The Ramblers’ home opener was spoiled by the Waves.
Loyola men’s volleyball lost in a sweep by Pepperdine University in the 2026 season home opener Jan 23. Third-year opposite hitter Aleksander Sosa led the Ramblers with a total of 14 kills, while Waves second-year opposite hitter Cole Hartke racked up 17 kills.
Being in front of the Gentile crowd for the first time this season after lots of traveling, head coach Shane Davis spoke on the impact the crowd had on the match, especially in the third set.
“The crowd was great,” Davis said. “The environment was great and it’s just so obviously great to be back when you’ve got that many people cheering for you.”
The Waves found an early lead, going on a 4-0 run against the Ramblers to start the match. Back-to-back kills by third-year middle blocker Aidan Klein and Sosa got the Ramblers on the board 4-2. Waves redshirt third-year James Eadie and Sosa exchanged kills, leaving the score at 5-3.
A kill from redshirt fourth-year Ryan Barnett and an attack error from fourth-year middle blocker Brad Bell left the Waves with a 7-3 lead. The Ramblers grabbed a point with a kill from Sosa, however, an attack error from Sosa, a service ace and a kill from Pepperdine redshirt first-year outside hitter Grant Lamoureux allowed the Waves to stretch their lead to 10-4.
The Ramblers’ next two points came from Pepperdine service errors from Hartke and Lamoureux, leaving the score at 11-6.
Third-year outside hitter Daniel Fabikovic tried to gain some points back, however, he was met twice with triple blocks from Pepperdine’s Eadie, Barnett and Hartke, leaving the Ramblers with a score of 15-7. Hartke tallied two more kills and another attack error on Fabikovic totalled the score to 18-9.
The following plays switched back and forth in favor of both teams. An exchange of service errors left the score 19-11. Third-year outside hitter Jake Read recorded his first kill of the match in a trade of kills between each team.
Klein and Sosa each recorded another kill for the first set for a score of 23-14. A service error from Pepperdine gave the Ramblers their last point for the match.
An attack error from Fabikovic ended the first set in a dominant 25-15 score in favor of the Waves.
Back-and-forth kills from the Ramblers and Waves and an attack error from Lamoureux tied the second set at three. Two attack errors for Lamoureux gave the Rambler their biggest lead of the match at 8-6.
The Waves went on a 3-0 run with back-to-back kills from Barnett and another from Hartke, giving the Waves the lead 9-8. Kills from Klein and Sosa met with two kills from Barnett tied the set at 11.
The Waves went on another run, capitalizing on a Rambler service error, a service ace and two kills for the lead of 15-11. A solo block from Fabikovic broke the run for the Waves.
Loyola subbed in graduate outside hitter Josh Schellinger, making his season debut, late into the second set. A service ace from Schellinger was followed by a service error, giving the ball to Pepperdine with the score 19-15.
A tradeoff of points followed by a kill from Fabikovic left the score 21-17. Pepperdine grabbed back-to-back aces from third-year setter Andrej Polomac, putting Pepperdine in a prime position to secure the second set. Loyola went on a 3-0 run with a kill from Bell and taking advantage of two Pepperdine attack errors.
With a service error from third-year opposite Lukas Anderson, the Waves took the second set 25-20.
Early attack errors for Pepperdine left the Ramblers up 4-1 in the third set. Back-to-back-to-back kills from Hartke, Barnett and Lamoureux tied the game at four.
Three consecutive kills from Schellinger, Sosa and Fabikovic gave the Ramblers a 9-7 lead. Pepperdine went on a 4-0 run with an attack error from Fabikovic, followed by a kill from Barnett and two service aces. Loyola tallied their own 4-0 run on a service error and kills from Schellinger, Bell and Fabikovic, giving the Ramblers the 16-13 lead.
Back-and-forth points from both teams left the score tied at 20. Loyola took the lead off kills from Schellinger and Sosa, followed by a solo block from redshirt second-year setter Alex Smits Van Oyen.
A Loyola service error set up a 3-0 run by Pepperdine trying the score at 23. After a double block from Fabikovic and Klein, Loyola failed to take the win.
The Ramblers and Waves exchanged kills and service errors, giving Loyola the lead 28-27.
A block by Barnett and Waves’ first-year middle blocker Noe Matthey, along with a Loyola attack error and a kill by Polomac gave Pepperdine a 30-28 win in the third set.
This marked the Ramblers’ third loss against a top-10 nationally ranked team. The other two included a loss in their season opener against the University of Hawaii and University of California at Los Angeles, both ranked No. 1 nationally at the time of play.
Fourth-year setter Ryan McElligott has been out of play since suffering an undisclosed injury during match two at Hawaii, leaving Smits Van Oyen to step into the role.
Davis praised Smits Van Oyen for his performance thus far after taking over the primary setter position.
“He does a nice job from a setting standpoint,” Davis said. “So we continue to get used to him as best we can, but he’s doing a nice job setting up to some pretty high numbers against some really good teams.”
Smits Van Oyen posted 36 assists and a career-high four blocks during the match. Additionally, Bell matched his season-high six blocks while Fabikovic matched his season-high eight digs.
The Ramblers are back in Gentile Arena Jan. 30 when they take on Manhattan University at 7 p.m..
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