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Outside attacker Thomas Jaeschke showed why he was a Preseason All-American and in the process lead No. 7 Loyola to knock off another top-five nationally ranked team.
Jaeschke had a match-high 18 kills as Loyola swept No. 3 BYU 28-26, 25-23, 25-22 on Friday in Chicago for the Ramblers’ second win against a top nationally ranked team in as many nights.
Loyola (2-0, 0-0 MIVA) entered the second night of its five-match home stand after defeating No. 1 UC Irvine in five games on Thursday. This is the first time in Ramblers’ program history that it has defeated two top-five nationally ranked teams in the same season.
Jaescke, the 2013 MIVA Freshman of the Year and an Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Preseason Second-Team All-American, had at least five kills in each of the three games — including a game-high six kills in the third game to secure the victory.
Loyola had a match-high .471 attack percentage in its first game overtime victory and out-hit BYU .290 to .256. In addition, the Ramblers had two players finish with double-digit kills as All-American outside attacker Joseph Smalzer added 10 kills.
Along with his offensive numbers, Smalzer’s biggest contribution came from the service line. The 2013 Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Server of the Year had a match-high four aces with his final two aces coming to close out the third game.
All-American outside attacker Taylor Sander in the loss led BYU (0-1, 0-0 MPSF) with 11 kills.
With this victory, Loyola will attempt to remain undefeated in the opening weekend of the college men’s volleyball season as it plays host to No. 11 USC on Saturday.