The Cubs headed over to Chaminade High School to play the Eagles on Wednesday. The struggling Eagles entered the game with an overall record of 1-12 and a Mission League Record of 0-3. The Cubs entered the game coming off a win against the Crespi Celts and a Mission League record of 4-0.
Set 1
Starting Six
6’3” Junior Patrick Mohr
6’3” Freshman Dillon Klein
5’10” Senior Nico Posivak
6’4” Junior Luke Turner
6’3” Junior Henry Wedbush
6’4” Senior Will Campbell
The Eagles served first but the Cubs got on the scoreboard first with a tool by Patrick Mohr. With Henry Wedbush serving first for Loyola, they extended their lead 2-0 after an attack error by the Eagles. Following, the Eagles were able to score their first point off a kill but Mohr continued to impress for Loyola with a kill of his own, which was followed by a bounce down the center of the court by Will Campbell to make the score 4-1 Loyola. An attack error on Loyola put them in recieve. After a few back-and-forth plays which included a bounce to the left corner of the court by Tristan Mortimer, the Cubs had Dillon Klein serve with a 7-5 lead. A clever offspeed kill by Campbell extended the lead before an Eagle was able to land a hit that was unreturnable. However, a vicious kill by Luke Turner gave the Cubs some momentum. Turner’s kill was succeeded with a kill by Campbell and an aggressive block by Wedbush to give the Cubs an 11-5 lead. Loyola benefitted from an unexpected hit by Wedbush that caught the Eagles off guard, as well as an attack error on the opponent’s side of the net that helped grow the lead 14-5. A hit to the far left corner of the Cub’s side of the court gave Chaminade their first point after a long scoring drought. Miscommunication and attack errors cost the Cubs and shrunk the lead to just 3 points. Dillon Klein rebounded for the Cubs and put an end to the Eagle’s hot streak with a kill that traveled all the way across the court. A fantastic bounce down the middle of the court by Tristan Mortimer set up the Cubs nicely to finish off the first set. Chaminade tried to recover by taking advantage of several serve errors but the Cubs were able to fend them off. With Nico Posivak serving on game point, the first set was secured by Loyola after a block by Dillon Klein.
Score 25-21
Set 2
Starting Six
6’3” Junior Henry Wedbush
6’3” Freshman Dillon Klein
6’5” Junior Cameron Lynch
6’2” Junior Aidan Peters
6’1” Senior Xander Hurley
5’9” Junior Finnbar McOsker
Henry Wedbush started off the second set strongly for Loyola with his serving. After the Eagles gave away the first point due to an error, Wedbush put the Cubs up 5-0 with three clean aces and a hit by Aidan Peters. A violation on Loyola gave Chaminade their first point of the set but Loyola regained possession after a serve error on the Eagles. Later on in the set, an Eagle was stuffed by Liam Watson and Dillon Klein served up an ace which helped the Cubs get up 13-3 early on in the set. Xander Hurley also had moments of excellence for the Cubs with an ace. A spectacular kill by Cameron Lynch gave the players on the bench some energy before Chaminade went on a run of their own closing the lead to 8 points. Then the Eagles seriously cost themselves with errors and Aidan Peters made them pay with his serving. A block by Liam Watson made the score 24-10 and Lynch served for game point. Chaminade made a desperate attempt to stop Watson on the last play, but the senior put the match in the books with a kill.
Score 25-10
Set 3
Starting 6
6’4” Senior Liam Watson
6’1” Senior Xander Hurley
5’9” Junior Finnbar McOsker
5’11” Junior Joe Radanovich
6’0” Senior Jacob Cudiamat
6’5” Junior Cameron Lynch
The Cubs started the third set in receive and got the first point off a kill, but they followed up with a serve error that tied the game at one apiece. A strong kill down center court by Cameron Lynch helped the Cubs regain their lead and was proceeded with a block by Jacob Cudiamat. After Chaminade scored two points of their own, Chandler Jester made a great play by sending a hit to the left corner of the court. Loyola takes advantage of several errors by Chaminade, but the Eagles do not give up and score off an ace and an attack error by the Cubs. After several more mistakes by the Cubs, Chaminade put themselves back in the game tying it 9-9. However, Loyola prevented giving the Eagles their first lead of the match with a kill in the right corner of the court. A block by Lynch and an ace by Radanovich helped the Cubs pull away once again making the score 12-9. An error on the Cubs put them in receive, but after a long and intense rally, Cameron Lynch scored with a bounce. Lynch continued to dominate with his serving and hits, which gave the Cubs their most comfortable lead of the game at 15-11. As the Cubs began to pull away, the bench became exhilarated thanks to a great block by Schumacher. This gave the Cubs what they needed to finish off the third set. An attack error on Chaminade set up game point for Loyola. With Xander Hurley up to serve, Cameron Lynch finished the sweep with an impressive kill.