CHICAGO – The Maryville men's volleyball team continued its arduous schedule to start the 2025 season and challenged No. 12 Loyola Chicago. The Saints pushed the Ramblers and took one set but LUC prevailed 25-23, 25-16, 24-26, 25-17. Makai Scott led three Saints in double figure kills with 15. Luke Kraft hit .310 with 14 kills, while Cameron Lee had 11 kills while hitting .421. Ethan Beyreis-Heim handed out a career-high 41 assists, while Zac Clark came up with nine digs. The Saints hit. 320 for the match with 50 kills on the night.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Kraft and AJ Robateau recorded a block on the match's opening point to give the Saints a lead. The teams traded points until Lee had a kill and a LUC error put the Saints on top 8-6. Kraft and Robateau combined on another rejection before the Ramblers committed a hitting error to stake Maryville to an 11-8 advantage. The Saints pushed their advantage to 16-12 on a Kraft kill. Maryville still was up 21-18 after a block by David Fleischer and Kraft. However, the Ramblers rallied with five straight points for a 23-21 lead. Kraft stopped the LUC run but the Saints could not string together a run as Loyola held on to take set one 25-23. The Saints hit .429 in the opener with 12 kills on 21 swings to just three errors.
 
Robateau started set two with a kill, and the score was tied at 2-2 following a Lee kill. The Ramblers built a 7-3 edge until an error and a block by Lee and Kevin Doran pulled the Saints to within 7-5. LUC led 10-5 before Makai Scott and Kraft had consecutive kills. The Ramblers scored five of the next six points to extended their lead to 15-8. Later, Kraft and an ace by Beyreis-Heim chopped the deficit to 18-14 but the Saints never got any closer.
 
The Saints scored three of the first four points to open the third set. LUC tied the set at 5-5 until Lee notched back-to-back kills to put Maryville on top. The Saints led 9-8 before tallying three straight points. The Ramblers committed two errors and a Kraft ace put the Saints on top 12-8. LUC closed to within 13-11 but Lee and Scott answered with kills for a four-point margin. Maryville was still up 16-13 before the teams traded points to 21-18. The Ramblers scored two straight before Kraft's kill handed the Saints a 22-20 lead. Loyola finally tied the set at 24-24 but the Saints had the answer. Kraft drilled in a kill, and Scott put down a pass from Lee as the Saints took set three 26-24.
 
The Saints led 3-2 in the fourth set but the Ramblers pulled even. The score remained tied at 7-all before LUC went on a 4-0 run. Beyreis-Heim and Robateau had a block to stop the run but the Ramblers extended their lead to 13-8. Maryville stayed within range and a kill by Scott trimmed the gap to 18-14. Loyola still led 20-16 but the Saints were unable to pull even.

STATISTICAL LEADERS
Kills: Makai Scott - 15
Hitting Percentage: Cameron Lee - .421
Assists: Ethan Beyreis-Heim - 41
Service Aces: Luke Kraft and Ethan Beyreis-Heim - 1
Digs: Zac Clark - 9
Blocks: AJ Robateau - 5
 
RECORDS
Maryville: 0-2
No. 12 Loyola: 2-0
 
What's Next?
The Saints host their first home match of the season as Kentucky State visits Saturday, Jan. 18, for a 2 p.m. match in Moloney Arena.   Read Full Article