Loyola Clinches Share of Regular Season Championship on Senior Night 

The Loyola men’s volleyball team defeated conference rival Ball State University April 12 in front of a noisy Gentile Arena, earning a share of the regular season title.

The Ramblers ended the season ranked sixth nationally and had standout players in the MIVA regular season, including fourth-year middle blocker Nicodemus Meyer — No. 1 in the nation in blocks per set — and third-year setter Ryan McElligott who is third in assists per set. Captain and fourth-year outside hitter Parker Van Buren is third in kills and points per set. 

The 2014-2015 National Championship team was honored at midcourt before the match.

The Cardinals took an early lead after fourth-year outside hitter Raje Alleyne tallied the first points. Third-year middle blocker Brad Bell responded with a kill while Meyer and McElligot added a block assist.

A back-and-forth, including kills from Van Buren and McElligott against one from fourth-year outside hitter Tinaishe Ndavazocheva, put Loyola ahead 6-4.

Second-year middle blocker Jake Read added a kill to give the Ramblers seven while

Alleyne committed a service error and Van Buren couldn’t finish his serve, keeping Loyola’s up  two. Alleyne cut into the lead with a kill before a Rambler net violation tied it at eight. 

An extended play-for-play sequence ended with neither team grabbing a definite lead until a powerful service ace by graduate outside hitter Jackson Reed set off an impressive sequence for Loyola, leading the Cardinals to take a timeout down 18-15.

Second-year outside hitter Daniel Fabikovic delivered back-to-back kills out of the break as Loyola inched ahead 20-16. A momentum switch with a Fabikovic  blocking error and a Ndavazocheva from cut the lead to 21-19 and forced a Rambler timeout

The first set wrapped up as Meyer traded a kill with third-year Ball State outside hitter Patrick Rogers, and an attack error by Bell was cleaned up by a Van Buren kill.

Read and Rogers traded kills before another Loyola timeout. Second-year Cardinal middle blocker Braydon Saviski-Lynde’s serve went out, giving Loyola the first set 25-23.

The opening of the second set was marked by a flurry of kills until Alleyne’s attempted kill soared out to give Loyola a 5-3 lead.

The Cardinals then went on a 3-0 scoring run, with kills by Alleyne and Savitski-Lynde. A Rambler challenge was reversed, confirming an attack error by Van Buren to propel the Cardinals ahead 8-7.

Three straight points emphasized by a Reed ace put the Ramblers back ahead 10-8, opening a string of even point-trading.

A failed challenge on first-year opposite hitter Lukas Anderson’s ace gave the Ramblers a 16-13 lead. Ball State tied the game at 17 following a three-point run with kills from Ndavazocheva and Rogers and a block assist from Rogers and Savitski-Lynde.

Meyer gave Loyola a 21-18 lead with a solo block, and Reed increased the margin with a service ace, forcing the Cardinals to take a timeout. Reed kicked off five unanswered points with another ace.

Ball State went on a 3-0 scoring run, sending the Ramblers into a timeout. The Cardinals grabbed two more points with an ace from third-year outside hitter Ryan Bartz and a three-player block assist. 

A Bartz service error gave Loyola set point, but Rogers pushed the set into extra points with an acrobatic kill, which Fabikovic answered to tie at 25. Further kills from Van Buren and Savitski-Lynde tied it at 26. Van Buren’s next kill gave Loyola 27, but he couldn’t return a dig on the next play, tying again and giving the Cardinals the serve. 

Ball State capitalized with block assists from Rogers, Savitski-Lynde and first-year opposite  Ryan Louis — whose back-row kill gave the Cardinals the second set 29-27.

Set three was an even stalemate, keeping the game tied up at 14 apiece. The Ramblers finally found rhythm as Van Buren and Read added three kills, sending the Cardinals into a timeout down 17-14.

Van Buren chalked a service error and McElligott notched a kill. Read hit his first ace of the night and Bell chalked a kill.

Following a Cardinal timeout and service errors, a block assist from Lewis and Patterson brought Ball State within three, forcing a late Loyola timeout.

Patterson’s solo block tied the set at 22 and started a brief scoring run, which was broken by a Louis attack error. Van Buren grabbed set point with a kill and an attack error from Ndavazocheva won set three for the Ramblers 25-23.

The fourth set ensued with a Cardinals scoring run right out of the gate. Louis racked up a kill before two Read attack errors and a back-row kill by Ndavazocheva had the Ramblers down 8-6.

Loyola bounced back, stacking four straight after Patterson notched a service error. Van Buren and Read registered kills, while a block assist from Meyer and Read gave Loyola the 10-8 lead.

Savitski-Lynde and Ndavazocheva squeezed in two kills before a sequence of high-caliber blocking from the Rambler side. 

Louis’ service was blocked by Read, and the Cardinals were forced to call timeout after Bell and Van Buren connected for a block assist. 

The timeout didn’t stop the blocking onslaught as a solo block by Bell and a Van Buren kill put Loyola ahead 14-11. 

Fabikovic tabbed a kill, sending Ball State into another timeout down 16-12.

The Cardinals reached 14 and went on a three-point scoring run. Anderson tallied a service ace before two back-to-back block assists from Patterson and Louis. Rogers and Ndavazocheva wheeled the scoring run to tie.

The game hit 18 after a Cardinal service error and a McElligott ace. The Ramblers reached 20 after another Patterson service error. Fabikovic notched his own ace, giving Loyola back the momentum.

A kill and service error by Reed canceled each other out, keeping Ball State in the mix behind 22-20.

Fabikovic, with a well-placed kill, gave Loyola a set point after a Van Buren kill put the Ramblers at 23. On the game’s final play, Fabikovic, Bell and McElligott’s block assist earned the Ramblers a win in the 25-21 fourth set.

With the final regular season win, Loyola clinched the No. 1 seed for the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association conference tournament — head coach Shane Davis’ eighth overall season title with Loyola. 

Davis reflected on this season with his team and said he was proud of the team’s resilience through the coaching change.

“I was just, like, extremely proud of how accepting they’ve been of me,” Davis said. “And as an alum, I’m just incredibly proud of the program. There were so many alums in the stands, and the teams honored tonight, that success over a long period just shows the support of Loyola with the program and a testament to the guys and the culture that they’ve created year after year after.”

MIVA tournament play is scheduled for April 19, with Loyola taking on Queens University at 6 p.m.. Streaming is available through ESPN+.