CHICAGO — Ryan Ka had 13 kills but it wasn't enough as the UC San Diego men's volleyball team fell in straight sets at Loyola-Chicago Friday evening.

Scores of the match at Gentile Arena went 25-20, 26-24, and 25-18 in favor of the Ramblers, who kept their perfect record intact at 3-0. The Tritons are now 1-3 with the loss.

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HOW IT HAPPENED
Loyola had a strong night offensively, hitting .400 overall with 41 kills and nine errors in 80 attack attempts. UC San Diego came in at .280 with 38 kills and 15 errors in 82 swings.

The Ramblers were also potent from the service line, out-acing the Tritons 9-4.

The first set was tight early as neither team led by more than two points up to 9-8 in favor of Loyola. At that point, the Ramblers won three-straight points, two of those coming off Triton errors - one from the service line, the other on the attack - plus an ace of their own to go up 12-8. A later three-point run that included a pair of aces put the home team up by six, 17-11. Finding itself down 21-14, UC San Diego rallied, taking five of the next six points to get back within three at 22-19. Ka had a block and a kill while Nick Rigo had a block and an ace during the flurry. However, the Ramblers were able to win three of the ensuing four points to go up 1-0 in the match.

The second set was a back-and-forth affair most of the way. With the Ramblers ahead 24-23, the Tritons turned aside one set point on a kill from Ka with the assist going to setter Gabriel Dyer. Loyola responded with a kill and went up 2-0 in the match following a UC San Diego attack error. The set featured the Tritons' best attack of the night as they hit .321 (15-6-28).

The Ramblers came out hot in the third set, playing to a 12-5 lead. The Tritons then caught fire, winning five-consecutive points to get back within a pair at 12-10. Ka was again instrumental, bagging two kills and a block during that spree. At 13-11 Loyola, the Ramblers came alive and grabbed five-straight points to make it 18-11 and the Tritons could not work their way back into it. Loyola put forth its best attack of the contest in the third frame, hitting .545 with 14 kills and only two errors in 22 attempts.

Ka added three digs and two blocks to his 13 kills on the night. Peter Selcho had a productive outing, finishing with a .545 attack on seven kills and a single error in 11 swings. Rigo was also solid on the attack, coming in at .455 with six kills and one miscue in 11 attempts. Berkeley Miesfeld had five kills, four digs, and two aces, while Josh Schellinger had five kills, seven digs, and two blocks. Libero Evan Boyle, the reigning Big West Freshman of the Week, led all players with nine digs and Dyer finished with 33 assists.

Loyola's Cole Schlothauer had a match-high 14 kills while Parker Van Buren was just behind with 13. The duo accounted for eight of the Ramblers' nine aces, both putting down four. Nicodemus Meyer had five blocks and setter Dan Mangun racked up 34 assists.

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WHAT HEAD COACH BRAD ROSTRATTER HAD TO SAY
"We are getting better in specific areas of the game although we would like to get a lot better a lot faster. However, that is not how the process of learning and growing goes. We upgraded how we were serving tonight as well as our ability to hit balls in from the end line. That created more chances for us to block and defend, but we were unable to capitalize consistently, which was a credit to Loyola's passers and its offense."

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TRITON TIDBITS
• Josh Schellinger's five kills and seven digs were both career highs.
• Peter Selcho established a career best with his seven kills.
• Ryan Ka leads the Tritons in kills with 59 and kills per set at 3.7.
• UC San Diego continues to lead its opponents in digs, 127-110 overall.
• Six Tritons have made their collegiate debuts so far this season: Evan Boyle, Jim Garrison, Michael Robertson, Josh Schellinger, Peter Selcho, and Sam Warren.
• Brad Rostratter, who was named UC San Diego's head coach on Oct. 7, 2022, earned his first win with the Tritons on Jan. 5 when they defeated Lincoln Memorial.

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UP NEXT
UC San Diego remains in the Midwest to play at 15th-ranked Lewis Saturday. First serve is set for 5 p.m. Pacific. The Tritons play their first home match on Jan. 17, at 6 p.m. against Emmanuel.

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About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Divisions I and II.