Senior outside Jacob Pasteur (7) goes to dig the ball during Ohio State’s 3-2 loss to Loyola Chicago Saturday at the Covelli Center. Credit: Aiden Ridgway | Lantern Photographer
The No. 7 Ohio State men’s volleyball team dropped its second match of the season to No. 13 Loyola Chicago on Saturday.
After going 9-1 at home this season, the Buckeyes (14-4, 8-2 MIVA) lost to Loyola Chicago (11-8, 6-3 MIVA) in a five-set thriller in Columbus at the Covelli Center.
Despite the loss, senior libero Thomas Poole said he’s still just as confident in his team.
“This is a tough group of guys, and we just had a bunch of mental errors today,” Poole said. “But I would take my whole team over any other guys, so it’s just a new day tomorrow.”
Sophomore opposite hitter Shane Wetzel led the Buckeye offense with 24 kills. Senior outside hitter Jacob Pasteur followed with 19.
Junior outside hitter Kyle Teune added a season-high 12 kills.
Wetzel and senior libero Thomas Poole led the Ohio State defense with nine digs each while redshirt-senior setter Michael Wright facilitated with 56 assists.
The first set of the game began with a kill from Wetzel, and the Ramblers responded with a kill of their own by redshirt-junior outside hitter Parker Van Buren.
Loyola Chicago then jumped to a small lead until a Rambler error tied the score at 10 apiece. The set remained close as the Ramblers were the first to reach 20 off a slam from freshman outside hitter Daniel Fabikovic.
A kill by senior middle blocker Jimmy Meinhart pushed the Loyola Chicago lead to 23-20 and a Van Buren service ace finished the first set with a 25-22 Ramblers win.
A Wetzel ace put the Buckeyes ahead to start the second set. Loyola Chicago answered with multiple kills, taking a 4-3 lead.
The momentum shifted back to Ohio State, and a Pasteur service ace gave the team a 5-point lead. Pasteur then converted on back-to-back kills putting the Buckeyes on top 21-16.
A Rambler service error put Ohio State at set point, and a Teune termination finished the second set with a 25-20 Buckeye victory.
Ohio State jumped to a 5-2 lead to start the third set. Loyola Chicago responded with a 3-point run to tie the score at 5-5.
The two teams traded the lead throughout the set until a Buckeye attack error set the Ramblers on top 22-20. Ohio State bounced back to tie the score at 25-25 off a Pasteur kill.
The set extended past regulation, and two Buckeye attack errors gave Loyola Chicago the 30-28 win.
Ohio State regained the momentum in the fourth set, jumping to a 10-4 lead off a kill by Pasteur. A Buckeye error and Van Buren kill brought the score back within four.
Despite the Ramblers’ efforts, Ohio State remained dominant in the fourth and stretched the score to 24-14. A kill by junior middle blocker Nicodemus Meyer kept Loyola Chicago alive for one final point, and the Buckeyes took the set 25-15.
The Ramblers jumped to a 3-0 lead to start the fifth and final set. They held the lead until an attack error tied the score at nine.
A Fabikovic kill and multiple Ohio State errors set the Ramblers back on top, and they took the 15-12 set-and-match victory.
After the game, Teune said the team has the chance and capability to adapt from the loss.
“The biggest thing about losses is constantly growing and learning from them,” Teune said. “The next couple days we can go back and watch film and see what we can do better.”
The Buckeyes continue their tough schedule with a game against No. 11 USC on Friday in Los Angeles at the Galen Center, kicking off the Big Ten/Pac 12 Challenge.
