QUINCY, Ill. - The Hawks hosted the No. 6 team in all the land in the Ramblers of Loyola University Chicago on Friday night (Feb. 14), dropping the MIVA conference match in three sets 21-25, 15-25, 21-25 at Pepsi Arena. 

Aleksandar Sosa led all players in the contest with 11 kills, also adding an assist, a block and an ace for a well-rounded performance against tough, nationally ranked competition. Ljubisa Novakovic was another bright spot for QU in the match, collecting seven kills on a .357 hitting percentage while also picking up four digs. 

Set One 

Loyola jumped out to an early 6-2 advantage, prompting Quincy to take seven of the next 11 points, capped off by a block from Sosa and Relja Milosavljevic to narrow the deficit to 9-10. 

QU hung within striking distance until a three-point LUC run late in the set provided the Ramblers with the space they needed, moving in front 19-14. 

A trio of Hawks' points that featured a Sosa ace closed the gap to 21-24, but a Loyola score in the following point closed the door on the Quincy comeback effort. 

Set Two 

After dropping the first three points of the set, QU took 10 of the next 15 to open up a 10-8 advantage. LUC responded with a seven-point swing, swiftly regaining the upper hand 15-10. 

The Hawks weren't able to inch any closer than four points the rest of the way as a six-point Ramblers run concluded the second set 25-15 in favor of the visitors. 

Set Three

Two kills from Sosa along with terminations for Milosavljevic and Tomas Badan found QU ahead 4-3 in the early going before a three-point LUC run shortly after put Loyola ahead 8-5. 

The Hawks spent the rest of the set trying to catch up, coming within a point on multiple occasions before another three-point Ramblers run midway through the frame gave Loyola a 16-11 advantage and all the opportunity it needed to go on and claim a 25-21 victory in the ifnal set. 

Stat Leaders: 
11 Kills, Ace - Aleksandar Sosa
25 Assists, 6 Digs - Armaan Dosanjh
2 Blocks - Relja Milosavljevic
Ace - Tomas Badan

Next Up 

The Hawks are back in action next Friday (Feb. 21), making the trip up to Chicagoland for a 7:00 PM date with the Flyers of Lewis before facing off with Loyola, once again, on Saturday evening (Feb. 22).