COLUMBUS – No. 7 Loyola Chicago (25-4, 13-3 MIVA) fell, 4-1, in a heartbreaker battle to No. 6 Pepperdine in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday, May 8 at the Covelli Center in Columbus. With head coach Shane Davis back at the helm of the program, the Ramblers made their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015 after clinching the MIVA Championship on April 26.
"Coming back to Loyola in November, I came into a great situation. The previous head coaches and the recruiting, bringing guys like this [Parker Van Buren and Nicodemus Meyer] into the program and having them establish themselves as leaders within the program created an amazing culture for me to come into and steer the ship in the right direction," said Davis. "These guys work incredibly hard and they're some of our best players, and when they are the hardest working players on the team, that's when your culture is in a great spot. We are where we are because of guys like these two next to me."
How It Happened
Set One: The Ramblers came out firing on all cylinders in the opening set, hitting a .346 clip while holding the Waves to just .080. All-American Daniel Fabikovic scored Loyola's first point and Nicodemus Meyer, another All-American, followed up with a tap over the net. Loyola led throughout the set with Jake Read extending the lead, 12-9, to force a Pepperdine timeout. First Team All-American and the MIVA Player of the Year, Parker Van Buren came in on the swing for the 14-11 cushion. The Ramblers capped a 4-0 run on a triple block by Fabikovic, Ryan McElligott and Brad Bell. An attack error gave Loyola the first set, 25-18.
Set Two: In the closest set of the match there were 17 tied scores and six lead changes. Bell added back-to-back kills to knot the score, 6-6, then a few points later Van Buren blew a kill through three Pepperdine blockers. The Waves roofed to level it back at 13 all. Both sides traded service errors, totaling 12 in the frame. Loyola was up, 18-16 then Pepperdine tied it back up, 23-23. A service error gave the Ramblers their first set point, but a long rally went to the Waves to even it out. Pepperdine staved off two more Loyola set points before a Ramblers blocking error gave the Waves their first set in overtime, 28-26.
Set Three: Pepperdine opened the scoring in set three, but Meyer responded with a hammer. The Waves were up, 5-3, after multiple attack errors and they went on a 5-0 run to force a Ramblers timeout. Second Team All-American and All-MPSF First Teamer Cole Hartke pushed Pepperdine ahead behind a 7-0 service run. The Ramblers couldn't stay inbound, finishing the set with 10 attack errors. Aidan Klein, Tyler Howard and Bryce Robbins subbed in to close out the frame which the Waves took, 25-13. Robbins added two kills while Klein contributed one block assist and Howard had an ace.
Set Four: Read put the Ramblers on the board first in the fourth and final frame. Loyola trailed the entirety of the set. Klein and McElligott stuffed at the net then Meyer hammered one down. A back-and-forth rally was kept alive by Fabikovic taking one to the chest then McElligott set the over from the ground before Van Buren reached to keep it in play and Meyer finished it with a kill. The Ramblers managed to close the deficit and scored their last point of the 2025 season on a triple block by Van Buren, Meyer and Fabikovic.
Inside the Box Score
- McElligott recorded his second straight and fourth double-double of the season with 11 digs and 35 assists.
- Van Buren marked his 12th consecutive match with at least 10 kills.
- The Ramblers put up nine blocks and three service aces against the Waves.
- Davis capped his first season back at Loyola on a 25-4 ledger.