Men’s Volleyball Defeated by Lindenwood in Hard-Fought Conference Matchup

Loyola men’s volleyball fell three sets to one in their first conference match against Lindenwood University Feb. 4. Lions fourth-year outside hitter Brendan Louthain led scoring with 18 kills, and third-year opposite hitter Aleksandar Sosa led the Ramblers with 17 kills. 

The first set started with a kill by Sosa and an attack error by Lions third-year opposite hitter Luke Kraft, quickly followed by kills from graduate outside hitter Josh Schellinger and third-year middle blocker Aidan Klein. 

A service error by fourth-year middle blocker Brad Bell put the Lions on the board before  third-year Lions middle blocker Owen Walsh and Klein traded kills. Third-year outside hitter Daniel Fabikovic’s attack error was negated by a kill from Klein, maintaining the Ramblers’ 6-3 lead. 

A kill by Fabikovic was followed by an attack error by Louthain before Kraft and Sosa traded kills. A Klein service error and a kill by Louthain, as well as a Louthain service error and a kill by Lions redshirt first-year outside hitter Caden Whiteside, closed in on the 10-7 Loyola lead. 

Attack errors by Bell and Fabikovic were followed with traded kills by Whiteside and Sosa. A missed serve by Schellinger and an attack error from Fabikovic flipped the 12-11 lead over to the Lions. A kill by Sosa was negated with an attack error by Fabikovic, but a service error from Whiteside brought the score to an even 13. 

Walsh and Louthain tallied back-to-back kills before Sosa redeemed his attack error with a kill of his own. Louthain and Schellinger swapped kills before Whiteside recorded another kill. Two kills from Sosa and an attack error by Kraft evened the score at 18. 

A missed serve by Sosa was followed by an attack error and a kill by Schellinger. Louthain recorded another kill before Lions fourth-year setter Zach Solomon missed a serve. A Kraft attack error was canceled out on a kill by Walsh before Sosa and Kraft traded points. 

Walsh’s missed serve was followed by a Louthain attack error and kill, but a kill by Sosa and an attack error by Kraft secured the 26-24 victory for the Ramblers. 

The second set started with swapped kills by Whiteside and Fabikovic before Sosa traded another with Walsh. An attack error by Kraft put the Ramblers in the lead, but Sosa’s missed serve brought the score to an even three. 

Schellinger’s attack error was negated by a kill from Sosa before Schellinger tallied a service error. A Fabikovic kill was followed by a missed serve from Bell and a Louthain. Two kills by Whiteside and a service ace by Lions second-year middle blocker Amir Grant put Lindenwood in the lead 9-6. 

Sosa recorded another kill, and a service ace by Fabikovic was quickly followed by a missed serve by Fabikovic. An attack error by Schellinger was followed by a kill by Klein, but a missed serve from Klein strengthened the Lions’ 12-9 lead. 

Louthain’s attack error was followed by a missed serve by Sosa, and a kill by Louthain was negated by a serve from Walsh. Louthain and Grant tallied back-to-back kills, and an attack error by Bell and service ace from Kraft put the Lions up 18-11. 

Sosa and Louthain both put points on the board before Sosa and Fabikovic started closing the scoring gap with two points for the Ramblers. Whiteside’s two kills were followed by a kill from Schellinger, and Louthain and Klein swapped points. A kill by Sosa was followed by an out of bounds spike from Whiteside, shrinking the 22-18 Lions lead. 

A kill by Whiteside was followed by a service error from Whiteside and an ace by Sosa. A kill by Walsh and an attack error by Sosa gave the 25-20 victory to the Lions. 

The third set began with a missed serve by Solomon and traded kills between Klein and Louthain. A Whiteside service error was canceled out by a kill from Kraft before Klein recorded a kill of his own. An attack error by Schellinger and an ace by Kraft put the score at an even four. 

Schellinger and Kraft swapped kills before Louthain missed a serve. A kill by Grant was met with a kill by Schellinger before a Louthain attack error. First-year middle blocker Oskar Berg Mikkelsen, Schellinger and Solomon all missed their serves before Klein and Louthain traded points. 

A service ace by Walsh was met with a kill by Klein and attack errors by Kraft and Louthain, putting the Ramblers in the lead at 13-10. Kraft and Schellinger both tallied kills before Klein recorded a service ace and error. A Louthain service error was followed by a Sosa service ace and a Kraft kill. 

An attack error by Schellinger was redeemed by kills from Berg Mikkelsen and Schellinger. Whiteside recorded an attack error before Schellinger missed his serve. Berg Mikkelsen and Whiteside traded kills, and a kill by Kraft and attack error by Sosa had the Lions closing in on the 21-18 Rambler lead. 

A service ace by Whiteside was met with kills by Klein and Louthain, before Sosa recorded two attack errors. Walsh’s missed serve was canceled out by a Louthain kill, and an attack error by Grant put Loyola in a tight 24-23 lead. 

First-year outside hitter Ayden DesLauriers and Louthain swapped missed serves before Whiteside and Fabikovic each put up a point for their respective teams. A service error was met with kills by Louthain and Kraft, securing the 28-26 victory for the Lions. 

The fourth set started with an attack error by Kraft, followed quickly with back-to-back kills by Whiteside. Attack errors by Sosa and Kraft were met with kills from Kraft and Walsh, putting the Lions in an early 5-2 lead. 

Sosa and Fabikovic recorded attack errors before Sosa and Louthain traded kills. Fabikovic added a point to the Ramblers’ score before third-year outside hitter Jake Read missed his serve. A bad set by Whiteside was negated by a Louthain kill, and an attack error by Grant, along with kills by Sosa and Schellinger and a service error by Sosa, weakened the 11-8 Lions lead. 

Three kills — courtesy of Solomon, Louthain and Read — were followed by a missed serve from third-year opposite hitter Lukas Anderson. Read and Louthain traded kills before Read and Grant put up points for their respective teams. A service error by Kraft started to close the 16-12 gap. 

A kill by Kraft was followed by kills by Schellinger and Berg Mikkelsen, as well as an attack error by Louthain. A missed serve by Sosa was canceled out by a Schellinger kill before Kraft and Schellinger traded points. 

Whiteside redeemed his attack error with a kill and a service ace, strengthening the Lions’ 21-18 lead. Attack errors by Louthain and Kraft were met with a service error by redshirt second-year setter and opposite hitter Alex Smits Van Oyen. 

A kill by Read was followed by missed serves from Kraft and Read. An attack error by Grant was met with a missed serve by Klein, and a service ace by Louthain secured the set 25-23 and the match for the Lions. 

Head coach Shane Davis said the team wasn’t consistent enough in tight sets to beat Lindenwood. 

“We did some things well at times,” Davis said. “But they executed much better than us after 20 points tonight, they were the aggressor in crunch time moments.”

The Ramblers return to Gentile Arena for another conference matchup against Lewis University Feb. 12. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the match can be streamed on the  Marquee Sports Network.