Men’s Volleyball Felled 3-1 by Buckeyes 

Loyola men’s volleyball lost 3-1 against The Ohio State University March 19. Buckeyes fourth-year opposite hitter Shane Wetzel led Ohio State with 15 kills, and redshirt second-year outside hitter Tyler Howard trailed for Loyola with 13 kills. 

The first set started with back-to-back kills by third-year outside hitter Daniel Fabikovic, followed by a kill and missed serve from Wetzel. Graduate outside hitter Josh Schellinger and first-year middle blocker Oskar Berg Mikkelsen tallied a block on Wetzel’s hit before second-year middle blocker Aidan Klein’s serve went out of bounds. 

Buckeyes second-year outside hitter Stanislaw Chacinski and third-year middle blocker Eliel Salva-Torres recorded a block on Howard’s hit, before Howard tried again and notched a kill. Chacinski, Schellinger, Fabikovic, Wetzel and Buckeyes redshirt second-year middle blocker Aaron Grimm all tallied kills, bringing Loyola to a 7-6 lead. 

An attack error by Buckeyes redshirt third-year outside and opposite hitter Daniel Hurley was followed by a service ace from fourth-year setter Ryan McElligott, a kill by Klein and a block on Hurley’s hit by Howard and Klein. 

The Loyola lead was weakened to 11-9 after a kill by Hurley and attack errors by Fabikovic and Schellinger. Grimm’s missed serve was negated by kills from Salva-Torres and an attack error by Klein. Schellinger and Wetzel traded kills before a Hurley service error put the Ramblers ahead 14-12. 

A kill by Buckeyes second-year setter Daniel Henwood Rodriguez and a Salva-Torres service ace tied the set at 14, but a kill by Howard and a Schellinger ace put Loyola back on top. Schellinger’s next serve went wild, but it was redeemed by a kill from Berg Mikkelsen. 

First-year outside hitter Ayden DesLauriers and Chacinski traded service errors before Wetzel, Klein and Chacinski tallied a kill each. Wetzel followed his service error with an attack error before Klein’s serve went out of bounds. 

The set continued with a run of four kills — one each from Fabikovic, Salva-Torres, Howard and Grimm — before Henwood Rodriguez recorded a service error. Wetzel’s kill was followed by a service ace from Chacinski, whose next serve landed out of bounds, securing the 25-23 set victory for the Ramblers. 

The second set started with a kill by Chacinski and a service error by Buckeyes first-year middle blocker Brady Jones. Berg Mikkelsen tallied a kill before Hurley recorded two of his own. Hurley missed his next serve, and Schellinger and Henwood Rodriguez traded kills to keep the set at an even four. 

Schellinger spiked a kill before Grimm and Chacinski recorded two kills for the Buckeyes, but Klein responded with a kill of his own. McElligott’s serve went wild before the two teams traded kills between Howard, Wetzel, Hurley and Schellinger. The streak ended with a service error by Howard. 

Hurley, Schellinger, Salva-Torres and Howard all tallied a kill each before Chacinski hit back-to-back kills and a block to put Ohio State in the lead 15-11. Henwood Rodriguez’s service error was followed by a kill from Grimm and a block by Klein and Howard on Hurley’s hit. 

Wetzel and Salva-Torres fired off a kill each before two attack errors from Ohio State and a block on Hurley’s hit by Howard and Berg Mikkelsen. Third-year opposite hitter Lukas Anderson missed his serve before Howard and Hurley swapped kills. 

An attack error by Schellinger was met with a service ace by Hurley and a block on Berg Mikkelsen’s hit by Salva-Torres and Chacinski. Schellinger, McElligott and Berg Mikkelsen responded with a block of their own, but after a service error by Salva-Torres and kills by Chacinski and Wetzel, Ohio State won the set 25-19. 

The third set started with traded kills between Schellinger and Wetzel before Wetzel and Klein’s serves both went awry. Howard tallied a kill and served up an ace to put Loyola in a quick 4-2 lead. 

Howard’s next serve landed out of bounds, and attack errors by Fabikovic and Howard gave Ohio State the lead 5-4. Salva-Torres and Schellinger swapped bad serves before Chacinski recorded a kill and Fabikovic landed another attack error. A kill by Schellinger was met with swapped service errors by Berg Mikkelsen and Chacinski, extending the 9-7 Buckeyes lead. 

Grimm hit a service error before Hurley tallied an attack error. Wetzel shot back-to-back kills before trading kills with Fabikovic. Schellinger’s kill was met with a block on Wetzel’s hit by McElligott, Schellinger and Berg Mikkelsen to shrink the 14-12 Ohio State lead. 

Chacinski’s kill was followed by points from Howard and Fabikovic and a service error from Schellinger. Berg Mikkelsen landed another kill before Anderson’s serve missed the court. Fabikovic’s kill was negated by a missed serve from McElligott before Salva-Torres and Wetzel blocked Klein’s hit, extending the 19-16 Buckeyes lead. 

Jones followed his service ace with a service error, and Fabikovic tallied a service error of his own. A kill by Klein was met with a kill from Chacinski and an attack error by Berg Mikkelsen. Hurley tallied another service error before a run of kills from Salva-Torres, Howard and Wetzel secured the 25-20 victory for the Buckeyes. 

The fourth set started with a kill by Howard and a missed serve from Schellinger. An ace and a service error from Wetzel put the set at an even two before Wetzel, Klein and Chacinski all tallied kills. Klein and Hurley traded points before an attack error by Howard put the Buckeyes in the lead 6-4. 

Howard and Schellinger hit back-to-back kills before Klein’s serve landed out of bounds. Chacinski landed a kill and an ace, and Hurley recorded a kill before Chacinski missed his serve. A kill by Grimm was followed by a block on Fabikovic’s hit by Salva-Torres and Hurley, extending the 12-7 Ohio State lead. 

Howard and Salva-Torres traded kills before Wetzel recorded a service error. Fabikovic’s attack error was met with a kill by Hurley and three attack errors for the Ramblers — two by Fabikovic and one by Howard. 

Hurley’s service error was followed by an attack error by Chacinski, but McElligott’s missed serve stopped the momentum for the Ramblers. Chacinski landed a kill, and Salva-Torres served up an ace before Klein and Hurley swapped kills, but Ohio State maintained a 22-12 advantage. 

Henwood Rodriguez’s service error was negated by a Hurley kill, but Chacinski followed with a service error and Wetzel with an attack error. Wetzel regained his footing with a kill before a service error by Jones and an attack error by Howard secured the 25-16 set victory and 3-1 match win for the Buckeyes. 

Head coach Shane Davis said the team was aware of the battle they were coming into facingOhio State, but they weren’t strong enough as a whole.

“We need to be sharper all around, on the attack and at the net, especially in moments where we’re down a few points,” Davis said. “Playing on the road is hard, and Saturday’s match at Northern Kentucky will be another test.”

The Ramblers continue their road trip with a match against Northern Kentucky University March 21. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. and the match can be watched on YouTube.