Men’s Volleyball Tramples Tritons in Tumultuous Four Set Match

Loyola men’s volleyball defeated the University of California – San Diego (UCSD) Jan. 31 in three sets to one. Third-year opposite Aleksandar Sosa led the Ramblers with 20 kills, and graduate outside hitter Josh Schellinger trailed with 19 kills. Triton’s third-year outside hitter Sebastiano Sani led UCSD with 17 kills. 

The first set started with a Sosa kill and block. Sani responded with a kill of his own before third-year middle blocker Aidan Klein got a kill. Klein and Sani traded service errors before Sosa tallied another kill and a service error. Schellinger hit back-to-back kills, putting the Ramblers in an early 6-3 lead. 

Triton first-year outside hitter Kieran Dumain got a kill before Triton third-year outside hitter Leo Pravednikov tallied two of his own kills. Sosa and Schellinger responded with one kill each before redshirt second-year setter and opposite Alex Smits Van Oyen recorded a solo block. 

Triton fourth-year opposite Luke Chandler and third-year outside hitter Daniel Fabikovic swapped kills before Smits Van Oyen’s serve hit the net. Fabikovic’s kill landed out of bounds, but Klein snagged the Ramblers the next point with a kill. A service error by Fabikovic was followed by another kill by Klein, giving Loyola a 13-10 lead. 

Chandler recorded a kill before fourth-year middle blocker Brad Bell and Schellinger blocked Chandler’s next hit. Schellinger spiked another kill, but Chandler and Pravednikov blocked his next hit. 

A service error by Triton fourth-year middle blocker Peter Selcho was followed by Sani and Pravednikov kills. The Tritons received a four-hit violation, and a net violation on the following possession, strengthening the Ramblers’ 18-14 lead. 

First-year outside hitter Ayden DesLauriers and Pravednikov traded service errors, and the Tritons and Ramblers traded four kills — two by Sosa, one by Sani and one by Chandler. Klein recorded a service ace, and Selcho and Sosa traded kills before a Sosa service error. Schellinger recorded another kill and a service error, but a net violation on the Tritons gave the 25-20 victory to the Ramblers. 

The second set started with a Pravednikov service error, but was followed by a Pravednikov kill and a Garrison service ace. Schellinger followed his attack error with back-to-back kills, and Sosa’s service error was followed with swapped kills between Sosa and Chandler. 

A Triton net violation gave a point to the Ramblers, as did a block by Klein and Fabikovic. A Chandler kill was followed by a service error by Selcho. Klein tallied a kill before another Smits Van Oyen service error. Pravednikov followed his own attack error with a kill, and Garrison tallied two kills, putting the Tritons and Ramblers at an even nine. 

Schellinger spiked two skills before a Klein service error and another Schellinger kill. Sosa’s service ace was followed by Selcho and Schellinger trading kills. A Schellinger service error and Sosa attack error shrank the 14-13 Ramblers lead. 

Bell and Sani traded kills before Pravednikov and Garrison blocked Sosa’s hit. A Fabikovic attack error was negated with a Klein kill, and Pravednikov and Sosa traded spikes to keep the score at an even 17.

Fabikovic, Pravednikov and Klein all tallied service errors before Triton fourth-year setter John Luers and Sani blocked Schellinger’s spike. Sani recorded another kill and another block before Sosa’s attack error was negated by Schellinger’s kill. Another Sani attack error was followed by swapped kills by Sani and Sosa, but Sani’s final kill gave the Tritons a 25-21 win. 

Head coach Shane Davis said UCSD was playing consistently in the first two sets, and Loyola needed to reset going into the third set. 

“It’s just a quick reset on our end, and making sure that we’re doing what we need to be doing, and making aggressive mistakes,” Davis said. 

The third set started with an attack error by Schellinger, but a Fabikovic kill and Klein service ace put the Ramblers in an early lead. A Klein service error was followed by a Pravednikov kill and back-to-back kills by Sosa. 

Selcho tallied a kill and a solo block before a Sani service error put the score at an even five points. Selcho and Bell traded kills, but a block by Garrison and Chandler put the Tritons in a 7-6 lead. 

The Tritons and Ramblers swapped four kills — one each by Chandler, Pravednikov, Klein and Fabikovic. Garrison’s service error was followed by a Sani kill and a Triton net violation. Selcho spiked a kill before Sani tallied a service error and a kill. Sosa’s attack error extended the 13-11 Triton lead. 

Another Fabikovic attack error was followed by kills from Schellinger and Klein. A Pravednikov kill was followed by a bad set from Triton third-year middle blocker Leo Wiemelt, but the Rambler point was negated by a Chandler kill and a Fabikovic attack error. 

Klein tallied back-to-back kills before Sosa spiked a kill of his own. Sosa and Klein blocked a hit by Sani, putting the Ramblers in the lead 18-17. Sani and Selcho added kills to the board before Klein and Schellinger did the same. 

DesLauriers’s serve went out of bounds, but Bell tallied a kill to keep the Loyola lead. Sani’s attack error was followed by bad serves from Sosa and Sani, who traded kills right after. A block on Chandler’s kill by Klein and Fabikovic gave the Ramblers a 25-22 victory. 

The fourth set began with a nine point Rambler run, with Klein, Sosa and Schellinger kills, an attack error by Chandler, a block by Schellinger and Bell and two service aces by Klein. Klein’s missed serve and a Sani kill put points on the board for the Tritons, but Schellinger bit back with another kill to maintain the 10-2 Rambler lead. 

Sosa’s service error was followed by a Chandler and Garrison block on Schellinger’s hit. Sosa spiked another kill before Garrison and Chandler each tallied a kill of their own. 

Chandler and Bell traded service errors before Klein and Pravednikov recorded their own kills. A Fabikovic attack error was followed by a Garrison service error and a Schellinger block. Fabikovic’s service error was offset by a missed serve by Luers before Selcho recorded a kill and a block. Sani followed his own missed serve with a kill before an attack error by Sosa. 

Selcho’s missed serve was followed by a Chandler kill before Chandler’s own serve hit the net. A back-to-back kill and block by Garrison, as well as a Sani kill threatened Loyola’s 19-18 lead. 

Smits Van Oyen recorded another solo block before a Sosa kill extended the Ramblers’ lead. Sani’s kill was followed by a missed serve from Triton third-year outside hitter Josh Ewert. The set ended with swapped kills between the teams — two by Sani, one by Chandler, one by Sosa and one by Schellinger. Schellinger’s final kill secured the 25-22 victory for the Ramblers. 

Schellinger said the team is going to work off the momentum of the ranked-team win, bringing the team’s confidence into their next game. 

“Obviously, we know we’re a good team, but when the results come out, it’s really to see and feel,” Schellinger said. “We didn’t play our best volleyball today, but we’re still able to come out with a win, and that shows how good we are as a team and how much we can trust each other to get stuff done.”

The Ramblers begin conference play on the road against Lindenwood University Feb. 4. The first serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.