No.7 Loyola Sweeps Cross-state Rivals McKendree in Conference Opening

Loyola men’s volleyball secured a dominant straight-set victory over McKendree University in their first Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association conference matchup at Gentile Arena Feb. 6.

Second-year middle blocker Aidan Klein shined with seven kills, two aces and one block, alongside a veteran performance from redshirt fourth-year outside hitter Parker Van Buren who finished with a match-leading 18 kills. 

Loyola established early control by taking a quick 2-1 lead after a kill and ace by Klein. Both sides exchanged service errors before Loyola found a rhythm behind strong assists by third-year setter Ryan McElligott and third-year libero J.J. Sowa.

McKendree responded to the early start with a kill by second-year Boone Felts, but McElligott answered with a quick-flick kill to maintain the 6-4 lead.

After another service error by McKendree, fourth-year middle blocker Nicodemus Meyer powered a kill through the middle to extend the 7-5 advantage. McKendree eventually tied the set at 8-8 after a block assist by the Bearcats’ fourth-year D’Aaron McCraney and redshirt senior Nikos Xydakis.

McKendree began forcing errors by Loyola’s attack forcing the Ramblers to call timeout up just 15-14. Service errors and a McElligott ace pushed the lead to 23-20. Van Buren sealed the opening set with back-to-back kills to give Loyola a 25-21 victory.

McKendree made several adjustments for the second set, keeping pace with the Ramblers early on. The Bearcats caught Loyola on their heels after a McCraney kill and a block assist from third-year Rolen Lively and Xydakis. The Bearcats tied it up at eight after a kill by fourth-year Kevin Schuele.

As the teams continued to trade points, McKendree held a 15-14 advantage after a timeout on the floor, but Loyola would respond with two kills by Meyer 

The Ramblers fought back propelled by a strong rally to force a tie at 21 before Klein recorded a kill to put Loyola back on top. The set extended past 25 points, but Loyola prevailed 27-25 with a crucial kill by Van Buren, a bad set by the Bearcats and an ace from second-year outside hitter Jake Read.

Loyola opened the third set strong with three straight kills by Fabikovic, Meyer and Klein. McKendree briefly tied the set at three with a block assist from Xydakis and second-year Nate Flayter.

The teams remained close through the set’s midpoint, with McKendree’s second-year Sam Hoskin and McCraney keeping the Bearcats within striking distance. After a hard-fought rally, McKendree tied it at 18 on a kill by Hoskin.

The Bearcats grabbed their first lead when Rolen and Hoskin tabbed back-to-back kills and took the 22-21 advantage, forcing a Loyola timeout.

A kill and service error by Van Buren and Hoskin registered a kill for match point at 24-22, but the Bearcats followed with a service error and called a timeout. Back-to-back attack errors from the Bearcats secured Loyola’s 26-24 win, completing the sweep.

Despite the sweep, head coach Shane Davis said he acknowledges there are areas for improvement.

“I think tonight, our match in particular wasn’t that clean,” Davis said. “I think McKendree caused a lot of problems for us, and so there’s a lot of just things that we need to clean up. Just from a blocking point, only had three blocks all night, right? That’s something that we’ve gotta take some looks at some video.”

Moving forward, Klein said focusing on preparation will lead to more consistent results.

“Not letting up — I think building good habits about getting extra reps, watching film with the coaches, stuff like that,” Klein said. “Just just locking all these skills and making sure we can continue producing consistent results.”

Next the Ramblers hit the road to face Quincy University Feb. 14 in their third conference match of the season. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start with streaming available on ESPN+.