CHICAGO, ILL. (January 30, 2015)—Junior Austin Arcala (Long Beach, Calif.) led the Pioneers with 10 kills as the Sacred Heart men's volleyball team was swept by No. 1 Loyola Friday night. Middle attack Doug Dzema (Manalapan, N.J.) hit .800, recording an errorless match, as SHU falls to 1-2 on the young season.

The Ramblers started the match on a 4-0 streak after a SHU service error opened the first set. Despite Loyola maintaining a lead, the Pioneers remained close minimizing the gap to just one point at 8-7 after a Rambler attack error. But Loyola answered with another three-point run to once again extend its lead. The Ramblers quietly continued expanding their lead using short runs and crossed the finish line using a 6-2 streak to take an early advantage in the match with the 25-17 win.

Sacred Heart started the second set with a monster block from Trent Thompson (Kailua, Hawaii) and Raymond Satagaj (Rocky Hill, Conn.). Followed by a Rambler error and an ace from sophomore Michael Comens (Lindenhurst, N.Y.). A bad serve snapped the streak for the Pioneers, who continued to hold onto a small lead throughout the majority of the set thanks to four kills from Arcala. Loyola came within one point of catching SHU three times before finally knotting the score at 19, and earned its first lead 20-19 on a Sacred Heart attack error. But the Pioneers evened the score with a kill from Travis Vonholt (Lindenhurst, N.Y.). The Ramblers answered taking the next two points before a service error gave the ball back to Sacred Heart. Three late errors cost the young Pioneers team, who dropped the second set 25-22.

The teams exchanged points in the third set, tying the score at 2, 3, 5 and 6 points all before a Ramblers attack error and a Vonholt service ace gave SHU a two-point lead. The lead was short-lived as Loyola came back to even the score at nine. Back-and-forth action saw the score continue to tie, but with the advantage always going to the Pioneers. The tables turned when a SHU attack error broke a 13-all tie in favor of the Ramblers. A kill from Cody Caldwell ignited a three-point Loyola run giving the Ramblers the largest lead of the set thus far. Sophomore Dzema tried to put a halt to the streak smashing down a kill. Classmate Christopher DeLucie (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) followed that with an ace to cut Loyola's lead to one point, 18-17. Capitalizing on several SHU errors, the Ramblers jumped out to a 22-18 lead forcing Sacred Heart Head Coach Kalani Efstathiou to call a timeout. Loyola took the next two points putting it at match-point, but the Pioneers weren't giving up that easily with back-to-back kills from Eduard Zardo (Brasilia, Brazil) and Arcala. But ultimately Sacred Heart could not overcome the reigning National Champions falling o the Ramblers 25-21 in the final match.

SHU continues the road trip Saturday night when they take on the No. 3 Lewis Flyers.