Men’s Volleyball Takes Horns Off Northern Kentucky Norse

Loyola men’s volleyball recorded a sweep against Northern Kentucky University Feb. 26. The Ramblers were led by third-year middle blocker Aidan Klein with eight kills. The Norses were led by first-year outside hitter Delvin Biggs with nine kills. 

The Norses were the first to score with a kill by graduate outside hitter Matt Cosgrove. The Ramblers responded, going on a 5-0 run with a kill from Klein, an attack error by first-year middle blocker Ryan Peterson, a service ace by redshirt second-year Alex Smits Van Oyen and kills by third-year outside hitter Daniel Fabikovic and graduate outside hitter Josh Schellinger, leaving the score 5-1. 

Biggs landed a kill for the Norses, adding a point to their total. A kill by Klein landed the score at 6-2. The Norse added another to their tally with a kill by first-year outside hitter Drew Palmer. 

The Ramblers scored a 2-0 run with a kill by Klein and a block by Mikkelsen and Fabikovic to maintain the lead at 8-3. Back-to-back service errors and a kill by Cosgrove added points to both teams. 

An attack error by Cosgrove, back-to-back service aces by Schellinger and a kill by Schellinger gave the Ramblers a 4-0 run, extending their lead to 13-5. The Ramblers were back with a 3-0 run after a kill by Palmer interrupted the Ramblers’ previous run. The run consisted of a kill by redshirt second-year Tyler Howard and a block by Klein, leading to an attack error by Palmer. 

Back-to-back service errors lead to the Ramblers securing two more with an attack error by Biggs and a kill by Howard, widening their lead to 18-7. The Norses secured a point with a kill by Peterson. Another back-to-back service allowed the Norses to gain the ball back and secure an extra point with a service ace by Palmer, making the score 19-10. 

The Ramblers took another 3-0 run with a service error by Palmer and attack errors by Biggs and Palmer. A swap of points followed the Ramblers’ run and consisted of service errors by third-year opposite hitter Lukas Anderson, Howard and second-year middle blocker Adam Blair and a kill by Mikkelsen and redshirt second-year setter Will McElveen. The trade-off ended with the Ramblers playing for set point, leading 24-13. 

A service error by McElveen secured the Ramblers the first set, 25-13. 

The second set opened with a kill by Peterson, making the Norses the first on the board. The Ramblers capitalized with a 2-0 run with a service error by McElveen and an attack error by Cosgrove. 

The Norses tied the set at twos with a service error by Loyola substitute, fourth-year setter Ryan McElligott. Back-to-back kills by Schellinger gave the Ramblers two more, extending their lead to 4-2. 

A trade-off of points included a kill by Biggs, service errors by Peterson and Klein, and a kill by fourth-year middle blocker Brad Bell and a service error by Howard, leaving the Ramblers in the lead 6-5. 

The Ramblers grabbed two more, extending their lead to 8-6 with a kill from Schellinger and an attack error by Blair. 

Another back-and-forth between teams involved a kill by Biggs, a service error by Blair, a kill by Cosgrove and Schellinger and a service error by McElligott. A 2-0 run for the Ramblers followed the exchange of points with a kill by Fabikovic and a service ace by Norse first-year outside hitter Leo Trespeces-Winck increased their lead to 12-8. 

Kills by Cosgrove, Klein, Biggs, a service error by Palmer and another kill by Biggs tallied another trade-off of points between teams. The Ramblers took another two points with a kill by Fabikovic and an attack error by Palmer, leaving the set 16-11. 

A kill by Biggs gave the Norse another point on the board. The Ramblers responded with a 3-0 run with a service error by first-year setter Nick Whitley, and kills by McElligott and Fabikovic. 

A service error by Anderson gave the Norse another point, but the Ramblers were quick to gain the ball back with a kill by Fabikovic. The Norses went on a 2-0 run afterward with a service error by McElligott and an attack error by Fabikovic. 

A service error by Cosgrove left the score at 21-15. An attack error by Howard awarded the Norse with their final point of the set. The Ramblers won the second set 25-16 after a 4-0 run with a kill by Klein and attack errors by Biggs and Blair. 

The Ramblers were on the board first in the final set of the match with an attack error by Biggs and a service ace by Bell. 

The Norse grabbed a point from a service error by Bell before the Ramblers took a 2-0 run with a kill by redshirt third-year outside hitter Bryce Robbins and a kill by Fabikovic, increasing their lead to 4-1. 

An exchange consisted of a kill by first-year outside hitter Samuel Grozdic, a kill by Howard, a kill by Biggs and a service error by Grozdic, leaving the score at 6-3. 

The Norse capitalized on a 2-0 run with a service error by Klein and a service ace by Biggs, causing the Ramblers to only hold a one-point lead. The Ramblers went on their own 2-0 lead with a kill by Howard and a service ace by Biggs. 

A service error by Howard, an attack error by Grozdic, and kills by Cosgrove, Fabikovic and Grozdic were included in a back-and-forth from each team. 

The Ramblers took a 3-0 run with a kill by Robbins and back-to-back kills by Klein, holding the score at 13-8. A service error by McElligott gave the Norse a tally, while a kill by Howard added another point to the Ramblers score. 

The Norse stole another two points from a service error by Howard and a block by Biggs, leading to an attack error by Howard. 

Back-to-back service errors landed in the set at 15-12. The Ramblers took a 3-0 run with a kill by Bell, a block by McElligott and Bell, causing an attack error for Cosgrove and an attack error by Grozdic. 

The Norse responded with their own 3-0 run with a kill by Cosgrove, a block by McElveen, and an attack error by Howard. The Ramblers took a bigger lead, grabbing two points from a service error by Peterson and an attack error by Cosgrove from a block by McElligott and Bell. 

A trade-off of points for both teams included a kill by Biggs, a kill by Loyola third-year outside hitter Jake Read and a kill by Biggs. A 4-0 run for the Ramblers left the match at 24-17 with a kill by Anderson, an attack error by Biggs, a block by Anderson and Klein and another kill by Anderson. 

The Norse grabbed their final point of the match with a service error by McElligott. A kill by Klein secured the match for the Ramblers with a final score of 25-18. 

Howard made his first start this season and totalled five kills, a career-high three digs and one ace. McElligott made his return to the court after he got injured during the second match versus the University of Hawai’i Jan. 9. 

Head coach Shane Davis shared his decision to sub in players in the second and third sets after securing a big win in the first set. 

“Anytime you can get a lot of guys into a match is good morale for the group, and it keeps energy level up,” Davis said. “[Howard] and [Anderson] did a nice job stepping in for us… There’s a ton of faith in these guys in position, and [Howard] especially, and so it’s been good and shows the depth as a team.” 

The Ramblers are back at Gentile Arena March 13 at 6 p.m. when they play Queens University on Marquee Network.