Men’s Volleyball Beats Queens with a Royal Flush

Loyola men’s volleyball swept Queens University of Charlotte in Gentile Arena March 13. Third-year outside hitter Daniel Fabikovic led with 14 kills, and third-year middle blocker Aidan Klein tallied four aces and four kills while Queens second-year outside hitter Casey Maas led the Royals with 10 kills.

The first set started with service errors by first-year middle blocker Oskar Berg Mikkelsen and Royals redshirt third-year setter Charlie Podgorny. Maas shot off a kill and an attack error by graduate outside hitter Josh Schellinger put the Royals in an early 3-1 lead. 

A serve into the net by Queens’ third-year outside hitter Chance Shampine was followed by a service ace from Fabikovic and a kill by redshirt second-year outside hitter Tyler Howard to pull the Ramblers into a lead. A kill by Royals second-year outside hitter Kaden Saurer and a hit out of bounds by Schellinger were followed by swapped kills from Klein and Mass. A kill by Schellinger put the score even at six. 

Howard’s serve into the net was negated by kills from Berg Mikkelsen and Fabikovic before Shampine and Howard traded spikes. Queens third-year middle blocker Rylan Colman’s kill attempt landed out of bounds, but his next hit tallied a kill. A run of kills — from Klein, Saurer, Fabikovic and Colman — brought the Ramblers into a 12-11 lead. 

A block on Schellinger’s hit by Saurer and Queens first-year middle blocker Caden Ledbetter was followed by a Maas kill and another Schellinger attack error. Klein shot off a kill before Ledbetter’s swing missed the ball, settling the score at an even 14. 

Fabikovic’s kill was negated by an out of bounds hit by Klein, but Podgorny and Ledbetter’s block was met with a solo block by Berg Mikkelsen. Maas, Berg Mikkelsen and Shampine recorded kills before Fabikovic tallied an attack error. 

Shampine’s serve hit the net and Saurer batted in a kill before a solo block by Fabikovic put the Ramblers in a 20-19 lead. Fourth-year setter Ryan McElligott recorded a service error before Klein, Fabikovic and Howard put up a block and third-year outside hitter Jake Read tallied a kill. 

Colman’s hit went out of bounds before Howard hit a kill, and the set was finished with back-to-back Fabikovic kills, securing the 25-21 Loyola victory. 

The second set started with swapped kills by Read and Shampine, but a serve into the net by Podgorny put the Ramblers in a small 2-1 lead. Colman recorded a kill before Shampine’s serve hit the middle of the net. Fabikovic and Klein hit a kill apiece and a service error from Saurer put the Ramblers in a stronger 6-2 advantage. 

Howard recorded a kill before McElligott’s serve landed outside the lines. Maas and Fabikovic traded kills, and Ledbetter’s attack error was negated by a service error from Fabikovic. Klein recorded a kill before going on a run of four service aces in a row, bringing the Ramblers to a 14-5 lead. 

Berg Mikkelsen and Read blocked Ledbetter’s spike, and Berg Mikkelsen tallied a kill before Klein’s serve went out of bounds. Berg Mikkelsen spiked another kill, and Howard’s serve soared into the net. Fabikovic landed two kills before Read’s next hit landed outside the lines. 

Royals second-year setter and opposite side hitter Caleb Williams hit his serve into the net before Fabikovic and Royals third-year opposite side hitter Connor Dell traded kills. A Klein kill was followed with a solo block by Colman, which was challenged by head coach Shane Davis — the in/out call was reversed, awarding the kill to Klein and a point to the Ramblers. 

McElligott recorded a service error, and Royals first-year outside hitter Roger Fredrickson tallied a kill before two kills from Read clinched the 25-11 victory for Loyola. 

Read said the second set momentum was set by their servers, specifically Klein. 

“He did a really good job from the service line, just putting a bunch of pressure on them,” Read said. “They kind of were on their heels for most of the second set, so we were able to ride that momentum.”

The third set started with a kill by Podgorny and attack errors by Fabikovic and Howard. Podgorny’s serve went into the net before a Fabikovic kill and a service error by Berg Mikkelsen put Queens in an early 4-2 lead. 

Dell recorded a kill before Shampine’s serve landed out of bounds. Maas and Klein traded kills and were followed by a block of Maas’s next hit from Klein, Howard and Read. Both teams went on a run of kills, consisting of three by Colman, Dell and Maas and two by Read.  

Howard’s service error was followed by a kill from Read and an out-of-bounds hit by Maas. Shampine’s kill was negated by a Dell attack error before Fabikovic tallied another kill, and third-year opposite hitter Lukas Anderson missed a serve. Fabikovic, Howard and Maas each recorded a kill before Klein and Fabikovic blocked Maas’s hit, putting Loyola in the lead 14-13. 

Two kills by Colman, one each by Maas, Fabikovic and Howard were followed by a serve into the net from Williams. Dell and Howard traded kills before Dell’s hit went out of bounds. Berg Mikkelsen’s service ace was followed by a block from Klein and Fabikovic, strengthening the 21-17 Rambler lead. 

McElligott and Dell swapped kills, which were followed by a service error from Royals redshirt second-year outside hitter Carson Strawbridge. Maas recorded another kill before Read’s attack error and a service error from Ledbetter. Howard’s final kill secured the 25-20 set victory and the 3-0 match victory for the Ramblers. 

Davis said the team hopes to set a faster pace during the beginning of sets in future matches.

“I think we’re a little bit more error prone, which kind of kept them close, versus what the second half of that first set and the rest of the match looked like for us,” Davis said. “We kept really great pressure, and we need to keep pressure on them from an attack standpoint.”

The Ramblers are on the road again to play The Ohio State University March 19. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the match can be streamed on the Big Ten Network.