CHICAGO – The Queens University of Charlotte men's volleyball team's three-game road trip came to an end on Saturday afternoon as the Royals suffered a 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-21) loss to the Ramblers of Loyola University Chicago inside the Alfie Norville Practice Facility.
 
Loyola Chicago (2-0) hit .366 on offense and had eight service aces in the match, while Queens (1-4) hit. 177 on the attack, including hitting above the .250 mark in the final two sets of play.
 
Queens held a slight 3-2 lead early in the first set, but five unanswered points for the Ramblers put the home team ahead by a 7-3 score. The Royals closed the gap to a one-point deficit twice at 10-9 and 11-0 before the Ramblers pull away with a 4-0 run.
 
After ending the first set by scoring four of the final six points in the frame, Loyola Chicago carried momentum over in the second set with a 7-3 run to open play. The Ramblers led by as much as eight points in the set, leading to a 2-0 match lead.
 
The third set once again started with the Ramblers jumping out to a large lead, building a lead of 9-3 following a kill from junior Luke Denton. Queens hit .258 in the final set of play but could not overcome the early deficit.
 
Denton ended the match with 10 kills and a .350 hitting mark for the Ramblers, while AVCA All-American Cole Schlothauer led all players with 15 kills and hit .414 on the outside.
 
Queens senior opposite Tristan Santoyo led the offense with 12 kills as the only Royals to finish in double figures. Sophomore outside Jack Brinkman and fellow sophomore Guillermo Jordan each recorded a match-high seven digs on defense.
 
The Royals return home for their next match on Thursday, Jan. 28 to host Emmanuel College (Ga.) at 7 p.m. inside Curry Arena.