Men’s Volleyball Finishes Regular Season Play with a Demolishing Defeat

Loyola men’s volleyball finished regular season play with a three set loss to Ball State University April 11. Cardinals fourth-year outside hitter Patrick Rogers led with 16 kills,and graduate outside hitter Josh Schellinger trailed with 13 kills for the Ramblers. 

The first set started with kills by third-year middle blocker Aidan Klein and Schellinger. Rogers and redshirt third-year outside hitter Bryce Robbins traded kills before Klein and Cardinals second-year opposite hitter Ryan Louis missed their serves. 

A block by fourth-year setter Ryan McElligott and fourth-year middle blocker Brad Bell on Cardinals second-year outside hitter Wil Basilio’s hit was met with kills from Rogers and Cardinals first-year middle blocker Daniel Günther, putting the Ramblers in the lead 6-4. 

A kill by Schellinger was met with attack errors by Robbins and Rogers. Cardinals third-year middle blocker Jacob Surette hit two kills before Louis hit back-to-back kills. Klein, Rogers, Fabikovic and Louis tallied kills, and a service error by Surette put the score even at 11. 

Schellinger redeemed his attack error with a kill before Robbins missed his serve. Günther and Rogers blocked Fabikovic’s next hit before Basilio served up an ace. Robbins’s attack error was negated with kills by Schellinger and Fabikovic, followed by a block on Rogers’s hit by Fabikovic and McElligott. 

Cardinals third-year setter Lucas Machado and Bell traded kills before Klein and Fabikovic blocked Louis’s hit. Rogers tallied back-to-back kills before Fabikovic shot a kill of his own. Rogers tallied another kill, followed by a service ace and error, before a kill by Surette put the Cardinals in the lead 22-19. 

Cardinals fourth-year setter Griffin Satterfield and Klein swapped missed serves before Robbins, Louis and Bell tallied kills. A final kill by Machado sealed the 25-22 Cardinals victory. 

The second set started with a solo block by Klein on Basilio’s hit, followed by kills from Rogers and Basilio. Fabikovic spiked a kill before missing his serve, and Schellinger and Günther traded kills. Another kill by Schellinger and an ace by Robbins put the Ramblers in an early 5-4 lead. 

Robbins’ next serve went wild, before an attack error by Bell was met with a kill by Rogers. Basilio, Schellinger and Günther all recorded service errors before Louis and Fabikovic exchanged kills. Louis got off another kill before he and Surette blocked Robbins’ hit. 

Fabikovic, Schellinger and Surette each added a kill to the board before Robbins tallied an attack error. Surette served up two aces, and Basilio and Louis hit kills, putting the Cardinals in the lead 17-10. 

Klein and Basilio traded kills, and Schellinger followed his kill with an attack error. Schellinger redeemed his error with another kill before Günther and Bell exchanged points. McElligott and Klein blocked Rogers’ next hit, but first-year outside hitter Ayden DesLauriers’ missed serve negated the points and strengthened the 21-15 Cardinals lead. 

Klein’s kill was met with a bad set by Basilio before Rogers, Robbins, Surette and Klein added kills to the board. Rogers and Bell exchanged kills before a final hit from Louis secured the 25-20 set victory for the Cardinals. 

The third set started with kills from McElligott, Rogers and Schellinger before Klein’s serve went wild. Machado and Günther blocked Fabikovic and Schellinger’s next hits, with Bell and Louis exchanging kills after. 

Basilio served up an ace before Schellinger and Günther tallied kills. Bell followed his kill with a service error, and a block by Louis and Surette on Fabikovic’s hit gave the Cardinals a 9-5 lead early in the set. 

Fabikovic, Rogers, Schellinger and Louis recorded a kill each, and an attack error by Rogers was followed by a service error by third-year opposite hitter Lukas Anderson. Louis served an ace before Schellinger recorded a kill and attack error. 

Fabikovic and Günther traded kills before Fabikovic spiked another kill. Rogers’ kill was met with service errors from Machado and McElligott. Rogers got off another kill, and McElligott hit a bad set to extend the 19-12 Cardinals lead. 

Klein and Rogers exchanged kills before redshirt second-year outside hitter Tyler Howard tallied an attack error, and Surette’s serve missed the court. Klein’s wild serve was met with an out of bounds hit by Bell and a block on Howard’s hit by Basilio and Cardinals third-year middle blocker Will Patterson. 

Louis’s missed serve was followed by a bad set from Satterfield, but a service error by Howard sealed the 25-16 set and match victory for Ball State. 

The Ramblers claimed the second seed in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association conference tournament and will begin postseason play against Purdue Fort Wayne April 18. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.