CHICAGO, Ill. - For the second time this season, McKendree men's volleyball took down No. 11 Loyola Chicago on Thursday night at Gentile Arena in five sets (28-26, 25-21, 13-25, 22-25, 15-10). With the win the Bearcats improved to 11-8 and 6-3 in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association play while Loyola Chicago falls to 13-7 and 7-2 in MIVA play as the only conference losses for the Ramblers have been to the Bearcats.
In the fifth set the Bearcats recorded 10 kills and zero attack errors as freshman outside hitter Kevin Schuele (Aurora, Ill./Saint Francis), graduate student opposite Ethan Carroll (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) and graduate student outside hitter Patrick Ross (Anthem, Ariz./Boulder Creek) all recorded three kills each in the fifth set.
Ross and Carroll recorded 17 kills apiece while Schuele added 16 kills. Redshirt senior middle blocker Tommy McGrath (Paradise Valley, Ariz./Brophy College Prep) added seven kills in the win. The last time Ross, Carroll, and Schuele recorded 15 or more kills in the same match was last Thursday at Lewis. Redshirt senior setter Ryan Serrano (Phoenix, Ariz./Boulder Creek) recorded 50 assists of the 59 team assists.
Ross and Serrano recorded 13 digs each while Schuele added 12 digs in the win. Senior libero Francisco Comas (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) added eight digs. Redshirt junior middle blocker Daniel Duggan (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) and Ross recorded three block assists each.
Serrano recorded his seventh double-double of the season and the 18th of his career, while Ross recorded his sixth double-double of the season and ninth of his career, and Schuele recorded his second career double-double.
Cole Schlothauer led the Ramblers with a game-high of 18 kills while Parker Van Buren recorded 17 kills. Garrett Zolg recorded a game-high 16 digs while adding 54 assists.
Notes:
With his 17 kills tonight, Ross now has 895 career kills to place third all-time behind Nolan Reuter (933 career kills) and Jared Wilcox (909 career kills). Ross needs 38 kills to tie the record and 39 to break the record.
Up Next:
The Bearcats return to action on Saturday, March 26 at the Melvin Price Convocation Center against Purdue Fort Wayne at 5 p.m.
