QUINCY, Ill. – The Quincy University men's volleyball team hosted the Ramblers of Loyola University Chicago on Thursday night (Feb. 13). The Hawks opened things up by taking the first set, 25-21, but QU dropped the final three sets 25-18, 25-22, 25-23. 

1st Set
The Hawks came out by scoring the first two points in the match. Omari Wheeler and Michael Ladner recorded kills in the first two points. 

Quincy stayed ahead behind strong hitting from their attackers. The Hawks hit .538 in the first half of the set to build a 12-8 lead. 

The Ramblers continued to threaten. Loyola cut the QU lead to one point when the set reached 15-14, then quickly eliminated their deficit after the set reached 16-16. Quincy called their first timeout. 

The opening set stayed closely played until the end. Quincy was able to hold on long enough to take the first set 25-21. Omari Wheeler and Adam Meyer combined for nine first set kills. 

2nd Set
Loyola came out with urgency in set two. The Ramblers got ahead of the Hawks 4-1 in the first five points. 

The Hawks erased that early deficit by going on a 6-3 run. This run tied the score at 7-7 as four different Hawks got kills. 

That tie was short-lived as the Ramblers went back in front behind a 5-1 stretch. LUC gained a 12-8 lead as Gavin Mueller called his first timeout of the second set. 

The Ramblers rode that wave of momentum all the way through set two. Loyola Chicago tied things up with a 25-18 win. 

3rd Set
The third set saw both teams trade points from start to finish. Neither team captured more than a two-point lead and the set saw ten ties in the first 22 points. 

Neither team hit over .200 in the first half, but the Hawks gained a 17-14 lead after a three-point run. A kill by Omari Wheeler and a service ace from Yoran Raymaekers fueled the Hawks run. 

Loyola worked back into the game and forced a 20-20 tie late in the set. Adam Meyer and Omari Wheeler gave QU the lead back with a block at the net. 

The visitors grabbed the next three points to go back ahead 23-21, and Quincy called their final timeout of the set. 

The timeout did not stop the Ramblers as QU fell in set three 25-22. 

4th Set
The Hawks fell behind at the start of set four, 5-3. A Michael Ladner kill and a service error on Loyola allowed the Hawks to notch things up at eight points apiece. 

After each team got a point, The Ramblers scored three straight points to take a 12-9 lead. Quincy brought the score to 14-13 after a kill by Wheeler and a solo block from Blake Sprecher. 

Loyola went ahead by three points 17-14 to force a QU timeout. 

After the timeout, Quincy found themselves down by as much as seven points when a 4-0 run following the timeout gave Loyola a 21-14 lead.  

The Hawks did not quit as they came roaring back. Quincy went on a 7-1 tear to bring the deficit back to just one point, 22-21. 

Loyola Chicago narrowly closed it out in four sets with a 25-23 win. 

Blake Sprecher led the Hawks in points with 13. He had nine kills and five blocks. Omari Wheeler added ten kills. 

Up Next
Quincy will be back at home Saturday night (Feb. 15) as they take on the #9 ranked Purdue Fort-Wayne Mastodons at 7:00 p.m.