Last Friday, the Cubs lost in four sets to the Mira Costa Mustangs in their biggest game of the season thus far. Tonight, the Cubs returned home for their first game since to play a league matchup against Saint Francis. Despite the loss, the Cubs still boast a solid 12-3 record compared to the Golden Knights’ 7-3. The Cubs look to recover from the heartbreaking loss with what should be an easy win.

Starting Six

6’4” Senior Will Campbell

6’4” Junior Luke Turner

5’10” Senior Nico Posivak

6’0” Senior Jacob Cudiamat

6’3” Junior Patrick Mohr

6’3” Freshman Dillon Klein

Set 1

The Cubs win the first point of the game despite not having the first serve when they find Mohr uncontested for a spike from the middle. The Golden Knights respond right away with a hit from the outside that scores and a serve that barely hits the back line without Cub contact. The Cubs finally get back on the board with a block from Mohr but don’t get their serve over. Mohr again goes up uncontested from the middle and gets the Cubs their third point right away. Mortimer follows this up with another uncontested hit from the middle before Turner manages to get a kill from the back row. The Cubs continue their dominance by blocking four in a row before winning the point off a Mortimer’s ending block. Posivak gets an ace to keep the momentum going before missing the next serve. Klein responds with a block to return the serve to Loyola and make the score 7-4. Mortimer extends the lead when he proves too strong for the St. Francis middle blockers before Campbell gets an ace and the Golden Knights need a timeout. The score is 9-4 when the Cubs come out of the brief intermission and Campbell nearly gets a second consecutive ace. The Cubs cross the line on a miscued spike, though, and lose the point. The Cubs run an excellent play that fools all the blockers for a Campbell kill. Klein gets another point when the spatch serve he sends over is too hot to handle. Campbell again gets a kill from the outside before the Cubs are able to find Mohr in the middle for what seems like his millionth uncontested kill. The Golden Knights finally win a point off of a block but send their serve out of bounds. They only worsen when Mohr gets big and blocks the attempted hit. The Cubs get big on the next play for a block but the St. Francis hitter sends the ball soaring out of bounds in response. The Cubs’ strength forces another timeout at the 17-7 score line. Right after entering the game, Peters helps force a Golden Knight hit outside before he gets a kill directly after. The point couldn’t have been possible without an excellent Posivak dig. The Cubs dominate with Mohr recording yet another block. Cudiamat gets an ace after his serve hits the net and sends the opposition scrambling. The Cubs fail to communicate and let a ball hit the floor on their end but respond with a point straight after for Peters. The home side misses its next serve and gives up a second point after giving up a hit from the outside. The Cubs end the set on an athletic tip from Campbell.

Score 25-10

Set 2

The six that starts the second set is Aidan Peters, Liam Watson, Jacob Cudiamat, Finnbar McOsker, Joe Radanovich, and Chandler Jester. Radanovich opens the set with an ace. The Cubs win the next point when the Golden Knights send their hit out of bounds. However, the Cubs send their next two hits out of bounds shortly before allowing an ace. The Cubs graze a ball that lands out of bounds and lose yet another point. Things only get worse when they allow yet another ace. The Cubs finally get out of their rut when St. Francis miscues two hits in a row. They allow the Cubs to come back even more when they send another hit from the outside out of bounds. After a lengthy rally, Watson goes up and dominates the one measly blocker to finally win the point. The Golden Knights now go into deficit after sending their hit into the net. Jester gets a kill right after and the Cub lead is 8-5. After a short rally, McOsker wisely lets the ball land out of bounds for the 9-5 advantage. St. Francis has seen enough and calls its first timeout of the set. Out of the timeout, the Cubs give up a point off a back-row attack before winning the point right back on a serve that falls short. The Cubs then win the next two points, the second coming off a Jester hit from the outside. Cudiamat serves one with some sauce that proves too much for the Golden Knight back row. The Cubs win another point before giving up two on the bounce, one from a serve that hits the net. Schumacher marks a kill from the outside before the Golden Knights send their hit attempt out of bounds. The Golden Knights then do the same right after before finally getting a point off a block. St. Francis has real trouble getting the ball under control shortly before Hurley is able to mark the kill from the outside. The Cubs send their serve over the line and the score is 17-12. Liam Watson takes advantage of a floating hit for a kill in the middle before Cudiamat is able to come up with a strong block from the outside. St. Francis then sends a hit out of bounds before the Cubs do the same with a serve. The Cubs miscue a hit and give up a point before winning one right back with a Golden Knight that flies out. Despite a McOsker pancake, the Cubs lose the point before a missed St. Francis serve. The Golden Knights send what seems like the millionth hit out of bounds but are able to get a point off a missed Cub serve. The Cubs are able to bounce back after Jester marks a kill but miss the serve. Despite an easy ball over, St. Francis struggles with possession and loses the final point of the set on its own errors.

Score 25-17

Set 3

The lineup for what seems certain to be the final set is Joe Radanovich, Aidan Peters, Xander Hurley, Joe Schumacher, Jacob Cudiamat, and Liam Watson. The Cubs win the first point of the set when the Golden Knights send the serve straight into the net. The Golden Knights are able to equalize, though, when they manage to keep their outside hit within the boundary. Cudiamat then responds with a hit from the outside that scores shortly before Hurley runs out of his shoe and gives up the point. The Cubs miscue a pass and lose a point right before the Golden Knights fail to get their serve over the net. The Cubs give up another point when a block lands on their side but win a point back before the away team’s serve sideouts. The Cubs again win a point when the Golden Knights send a hit out bounds. Unfortunately, they give one right back when their hit goes straight into the net. St. Francis sends a few of their hits flying out of bounds before finally getting one to score. Jester is able to mark an opposite kill after the floating serve from the Golden Knights makes it easy. The away team wins a point back but sends its serve over the end line and sends the tie back the way of Loyola. The score is 9-8 but the Cubs can’t return a powerful a hit and let the score become equal. St. Francis sends yet another serve out of bounds but the Cubs do the same before finding Cudiamat on the outside for a sweet swing to a sweet kill. Both Mohr and Cudiamat combine for a block that sees the Cubs start to establish their dominance. The Cubs get called for a double and lose another point, an equalizer, after a long rally ends with their own miscued hit. Lucky for the Cubs, the Golden Knights demonstrate real trouble getting serves over yet again. The away team then crosses under the net before Hurley is able to extend the advantage with an outside kill. St. Francis needs a timeout at 15-12 to help make the push for a set victory. The Cubs look stoked upon return to action but lose the first point when they come out of the break. The Cubs then respond with an outside hit for Peters that wins a point before a long rally where the Cubs lose the point. Radanovich saves what was a certain point before cuing up Lynch for a kill from the middle. The Cubs lose a point at 19-16 when they get called for a back-row attack but respond with a smart play from Peters that ends with a friendly result. Radanovich marks an ace and the score is 20-16 before he sends the next serve out. The Cubs send their next hit out of bounds but St. Francis misses yet another serve. Peters gets himself an ace before Hurley finds the empty space for the 24th point of the set. The Cubs get called for a foot fault before allowing an ace. The Golden Knights can’t replicate the serve and give up the final point of the game.

Score 25-20