CHARLOTTE, N.C. - After having recently earned their fourth straight victory, Queens men's volleyball hit the road to take on No. 9 Loyola Chicago. The Royals gave them everything they could handle, keeping the Ramblers on their toes with an efficient offensive attack combined with scrappy defensive play, but were ultimately bested, 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 26-24).

MATCH SUMMARY
Loyola Chicago came out the gate strong and put Queens in a hole halfway through the first set with a 14-8 lead, their largest of the set. The Royals regrouped and fought back, slowly gaining more success on offense as a three-point run that  included a kill by Nathan Vaupel and a double block by Vaupel and Brian Schwob cut the deficit to one, 18-17. Jack Brinkman, who led Queens' offense on the evening, connected on a kill that kept Queens within one, 20-19. The Ramblers settled down and pushed the next four points, ultimately taking the set, 25-20.

Daniel Leitao kicked things off in the second set with a service ace, immediately followed by another kill by Brinkman. Much like in the first set, Loyola Chicago got into a groove that saw them take the next six points and put the Royals behind. Queens would muster up some offense to remain in the set, however the deficit would continue to grow, with the Ramblers holding a 19-12 lead late in the set. Vaupel, Brinkman, and Sterling Sims would each manage kills late, however the hosts would hold onto their lead, taking the second set 25-19.

Queens would flip the script with a strong early showing in the third set. Stirling put away a pair of kills, while Vaupel served up an ace to give Queens a 7-4 lead. Loyola would knot the set at eight, but Queens would take three in row, the last two points coming via service aces by Sims to push the deficit back to three. With the Royals up 11-10, the two teams battled for each point, as the proceeding 12 points were won in back-and-forth fashion, finally being broken with a late two-point run by Queens as Sims and Brinkman would form a wall that would deny the Ramblers attack, pulling ahead 22-20. After trading the next four points and sitting just one point away from a set victory, Queens struggled to earn the final point as Loyola would end the set on a four-point run and ultimately take the match.

COACH'S WORDS
"We had a really solid effort against a very good top-10 team tonight" said head coach Jeremy Price. "I was really pleased with how our middles played. Stirling Sims was outstanding with six kills and hitting .400 with a couple of aces. Jack Brinkman continued his solid play of late which helped keep us in it as well."

BY THE NUMBERS

• Jack Brinkman paced Queens' offense with team-high eight kills, swinging .333 on the evening.
• Out the middle, Stirling Sims played well in all facets; putting away six kills for a .400 hitting percentage, while totaling two blocks and serving two aces.
• Setter Brian Schwob finished the match with 23 assists, also leading the team in digs with six while adding three blocks.
• Daniel Leitao also made nice contributions with seven kills of his own.

NEXT UP
Queens will remain in Illinois for one more match; a 6PM ET showdown with Lewis University. 

SOCIAL MEDIA
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