Men’s Volleyball Records Second Sweep Against Rockhurst

Loyola men’s volleyball recorded a sweep against Rockhurst University Feb. 14. Graduate outside hitter Josh Schellinger led the Ramblers with 11 kills. Hawks’ fourth-year outside hitter Shay Spadaro recorded a total 15 kills. 

Rockhurst was first to score with a kill by redshirt first-year middle blocker Will Sutphen. A kill from Schellinger put the Ramblers on the board, and an attack error from Sutphen gave the Ramblers an early lead. 

A kill by Spadaro left the game tied at two. The Ramblers took a larger lead going on a 4-0 run with kills by third-year outside hitter Daniel Fabikovic and third-year middle blocker Aidan Klein, along with attack errors by Spadaro and Sutphen. 

The Hawks went on a run of their own, adding three points to their total with a service error from Fabikovic, kill by Spadaro and an attack error by Schellinger, leaving the score at 6-5. With a service error by Sutphen, the Ramblers gained control of the ball and capitalized on two errors from the Hawks. 

A kill by Spadaro broke up the Rambler action and left the score at 8-6. With a kill from first-year middle blocker Oskar Berg Mikkelsen and an attack error from Hawks’ second-year middle blocker Aron DeRoy, Loyola led 10-6. 

After a service error from third-year opposite hitter Aleksandar Sosa, the Ramblers were quick to gain the ball back with a kill by Mikkelsen, a kill by Fabikovic and a service ace by Schellinger. A service error from Schellinger broke the Ramblers from their 3-0 run with the score at 13-8. 

After a kill from Schellinger, the Hawks responded, going on their own 3-0 run with kills from first-year outside hitter Quentin Huhman, Spadaro and an attack error from Fabikovic. Sosa created a break in the Hawks’ run with a kill to make it 15-11.

Adding two more points and closing the gap, a kill by Spadaro and an attack error from Fabikovic put the score at 15-13. A trade-off of points by each team included kills from Fabikovic, DeRoy, Klein, Schellinger, Spadaro and Mikkelsen and service errors by both Loyola third-year opposite hitter Lukas Anderson and Spadaro. These trade-offs left the score at 21-17. 

A service error by Fabikovic and a kill by Hawks’ second-year setter Tyler Zippay reduced the scoring gap to 23-21. A kill from Sosa followed by service errors by Klein and Spadaro allowed the Ramblers to secure the first set 25-22. 

A kill by Rockhurst’s graduate middle blocker Wesley Yusk started off the second set. The Ramblers went on a 3-0 run with a kill from Klein, an attack error from DeRoy and a kill by Fabikovic, giving the Ramblers an early lead of 3-1. 

A kill by DeRoy and an attack error by Fabikovic tied the set at three. A back-and-forth battle between both teams included two kills by Klein and one from Spadaro. 

The Hawks followed the trade-off with consecutive kills by DeRoy and Huhman, leaving the score at 6-5. The Ramblers responded with their own 4-0 run with kills from Schellinger, an attack error by Spadaro, an attack error by Sutphen and a kill by Mikkelsen. 

A kill by Huhman broke the Ramblers’ run and kept the score at 9-7. The Ramblers went on another 3-0 run with kills from Schellinger and Fabikovic and a bad set by Yusk. An exchange of points followed, including a kill by Schellinger, an attack error by Sosa, a Yusk service error, an attack error by Fabikovic and kills by Sosa, Schelliner and DeRoy, leaving the score at 16-11. 

The Ramblers grabbed another two points to extend their lead with attack errors by Zippay and Huhman, giving the Ramblers a sizable 18-11 advantage. An attack error by Schellinger followed by a service error and a kill by Fabikovic kept the score at 21-14.  

A 2-0 Hawks run involved a kill by Huhman and an attack error by third-year outside hitter Tyler Howard. A trade-off of points consisting of a kill by redshirt second-year setter Alex Smits Van Oyen, a kill by Spadaro, a service error from Yusk, a block by DeRoy, Spadaro and Sutphen and a kill by Howard left the score at 24-18. After a service error, the Ramblers won the set with a kill by Howard finalizing the score at 25-19. 

The Ramblers were on the board first in the third set with a kill by Schellinger. The Hawks were quick to respond, going on a 3-0 run with kills by DeRoy and Sutphen and an attack error by Klein. Loyola tied it up at three on a service and attack error by Sutphen. 

A back-and-forth exchange of points consisted of a kill by Huhman, an attack error by Sutphen, a service error by Klein and a kill by Schellinger tied the set at five. Taking the lead, the Ramblers added two more to their total with a kill by Mikkelsen and a service ace by Howard. 

Back-and-forth play for the next six points included two attack errors by Fabikovic and Spadaro, a kill by DeRoy, a kill by Spadaro and two kills by Howard, leaving the score at 10-8. 

The Hawks  scored two straight with a kill by DeRoy and an attack error by Howard. A kill by Schellinger interrupted the Hawks run and kept the score at 11-10. Another 2-0 run from the Hawks was set by a kill by Huhman and an attack error by Schellinger. 

Before the Hawks went on a 4-0 run, a kill by Klein added a point to the Ramblers total. In their run, the Hawks capitalized on a service error by Klein, a kill by Spadaro and two attack errors from Schellinger and Howard. 

The Ramblers answered with a 3-0 run, including a kill by Mikkelsen, a service ace by Howard and an attack error by Spadaro, leaving the score at 16-15, in favor of the Ramblers. A kill by Spadaro added a point to the Hawks total before another 3-0 run by the Ramblers. 

A service error by Yusk and an attack error by Spadaro and Sutphen gave the Ramblers the lead at 18-17. The Hawks were quick to tie it back at 18 with a kill by Spadaro. 

A kill by Fabikovic and a service ace by Anderson got the Ramblers to a 20-18 lead. A back-and-forth ensued, including kills from Spadaro, Klein, DeRoy and Fabikovic, leaving the score at 22-20. 

Back-to-back kills from Huhman tied it at 22, and Howard kept the lead with the Ramblers with a kill of his own. After a service error by first-year outside hitter Ayden DesLauriers, the Hawks tied the set at 23. 

A service error by Huhman and a bad set by Yusk won the match for the Ramblers 25-23. This marks the second straight sweep for the Ramblers. 

Mikkelsen recorded a career-high six kills during the match. Howard’s two service aces marked a season and match-high. 

The Ramblers return to Gentile Arena Feb. 26 for a match against Northern Kentucky University at 7 p.m..