Men’s Volleyball Finishes Home Stretch with Second Sweep of Queens

Loyola men’s volleyball swept Queens University of Charlotte to finish their eight-game home stretch at Gentile Arena March 14. Third-year outside hitter Daniel Fabikovic tallied 12 kills, followed closely by graduate outside hitter Josh Schellinger with eight kills and Royals third-year opposite side hitter Connor Dell with 10 kills.

The first set started with kills from third-year outside hitter Daniel Fabikovic, first-year middle blocker Oskar Berg Mikkelsen and Royals third-year outside hitter Chance Shampine. Shampine’s next hit was blocked by third-year middle blocker Aidan Klein, fourth-year setter Ryan McElligott and Fabikovic before graduate outside hitter Josh Schellinger tallied a kill. 

Berg Mikkelsen’s service ace was followed by another block on Queens second-year outside hitter Kaden Saurer, rejected by Fabikovic, Klein and third-year outside hitter Jake Read to put the Ramblers in an early 6-1 lead. 

Berg Mikkelsen and Shampine traded serves into the net before Royals first-year middle blocker Caden Ledbetter spiked a kill. An attack error by redshirt second-year outside hitter Tyler Howard and a solo block by Saurer started momentum for the Royals, but a kill and a block by Klein continued the Ramblers’ 9-5 lead. 

The set continued with seven kills in a row — three by Royals second-year outside hitter Casey Maas and one each from Klein, Berg Mikkelsen, Fabikovic and Schellinger. Howard and Queens third-year middle blocker Rylan Coleman each followed with service errors. 

Fabikovic’s kill was negated by an attack error from McElligott before kills were traded between  Howard, Ledbetter and Fabikovic. Shampine’s next hit landed off court, extending the 18-11 Loyola lead. 

Klein and Fabikovic blocked another hit before McElligott served up two aces. Back-to-back Klein kills were followed by a service ace and error by McElligott and a block by Dell. A service error by Royals redshirt first-year setter Jack Anderson sealed the 25-12 set victory for the Ramblers. 

The second set started with an attack error by Howard, which was negated by a Schellinger kill. Schellinger’s serve went over the line before Berg Mikkelsen tallied a kill. Ledbetter’s hit went out of bounds before Berg Mikkelsen recorded a service ace. 

Ledbetter spiked a kill before Klein recorded a solo block and assisted Howard on a block. The set continued with a run of five kills — three by Klein, one by Colman and one by Dell. Klein racked up two more service aces, bringing the Ramblers to an 11-5 lead. 

Dell hit two more kills before Howard and Maas traded spikes, and Loyola went on a kill spree, with a hit by Berg Mikkelsen, one by Fabikovic and two by Howard. After a Queens timeout, Berg Mikkelsen and Schellinger hit back-to-back kills before Schellinger recorded a service ace, strengthening the 19-8 Loyola lead. 

Berg Mikkelsen and Fabikovic put up another block before Schellinger served another ace and a service error. Royals first-year outside hitter Roger Fredrickson recorded a kill before Shampine’s serve went into the net. Shampine and Fabikovic traded kills, which were followed by a bad set by Anderson and a service ace by McElligott, winning the set 25-11 for the Ramblers. 

The third set started with a kill by Fabikovic and a block on Dell’s hit by Berg Mikkelsen and Fabikovic. Shampine, Fabikovic, Dell and Schellinger all knocked kills before McElligott’s serve soared into the net. Loyola strengthened their lead to 7-3 after back-to-back kills by Fabikovic and an attack error by Maas. 

Schellinger’s next hit landed out of bounds before fourth-year middle blocker Brad Bell and Ledbetter traded kills, and Howard recorded an attack error. Maas served the ball into the net, and Ledbetter’s spike ended up out of the lines before Berg Mikkelsen swung and missed his set. 

Royals redshirt third-year setter Charlie Podgorny and Colman blocked Schellinger’s spike before Schellinger and Shampine traded kills. Podgorny’s serve landed out of bounds and was followed by a block by Read and Bell, as well as a kill by Bell, extending the 14-10 Rambler lead. 

Shampine recorded another attack error, but it was negated by Berg Mikkelsen’s serve landing out of bounds. Bell and Maas traded kills before Fabikovic recorded a kill of his own, followed by a service ace. Dell and Schellinger both tallied kills before a serve by third-year opposite hitter Lukas Anderson landed in the net. 

Redshirt third-year outside hitter Bryce Robbins snagged a kill before Berg Mikkelsen and Schellinger blocked Dell’s hit. Ledbetter’s kill was followed by a block on Robbins’ hit by Colman and Shampine, but Jack Anderson’s serve landed in the net, ending the Royals’ momentum. 

Schellinger served up an ace and tallied another kill before hitting his next serve out of bounds. Fabikovic’s kill secured the 25-17 set victory and match for the Ramblers.

Head coach Shane Davis said the team improved from the night before and are getting ready to return to road games. 

“We corrected exactly what we needed to from last night, showing it at the service line and at the net,” Davis said. “[Fabikovic] and [Klein] were great tonight, and I’m proud of the way our guys rallied this weekend.”

The Ramblers are back on the road 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.