Loyola exorcises recent playoff demons and wins A Conference volleyball championship

by Derek Toney

Emotions ran high for Loyola's volleyball team as they entered Mount St. Joseph’s Smith Center Friday evening for the MIAA A Conference volleyball championship game.

A year ago, the Dons lost in the MIAA semifinals on the same floor. Several of those players were in the stands in 2022 to witness another postseason heartache. 

Loyola exorcised those demons and returned to the championship mountaintop. The Dons swept Gilman in straight sets for their first title since 2019.

“We knew this was our year,” said Loyola senior setter Bryce Llewellyn. 

It was championship or bust for Llewellyn and fellow three-year starting seniors Brooks Peterson, Connor Floyd, Mikey Boyle and Lucas Heinze.

Peterson was a freshman on junior varsity when the Dons lost to Mount St. Joseph in the 2022 MIAA semifinals. 

He remembered senior Brendan Bateman coming over to the Dons junior varsity after the game. 

“He talked to us and said ‘you guys are the future,’” Peterson said. “I’ve never forgotten that.”

Peterson put Loyola’s championship breakthrough in focus with a block kill for a 24-22 lead in the third set. 

After a Gilman serve sailed out, Loyola celebrated a perfect season (15-0) with their fellow classmates who lined the bottom of the stands across from the Dons’ bench.

“We didn't play this game just for our team and these boosters. We played it for every team since 2019 that hasn't won a championship,” said Peterson, who had four kills and two aces in the third and final set. “I was texting guys from prior teams the past three years, and we had guys that were all on the team six years ago that were watching us…it's just the support around volleyball at our school is amazing.”

The Dons swept all but three matches during the season, including a semifinal sweep of Mount St. Joseph. They survived a pair of five-set thrillers with Gilman, the 2024 MIAA champ, during the regular season. 

Though round three didn’t go the distance Friday, the Greyhounds (10-5) made Loyola earn it.

“They were all very tight, back and forth. No team got a big lead, really…it just happened to fall our way at the end,” said Dons coach Tim Baier. “These guys have been a great group.”

Gilman led 18-14 in the first set before Loyola battled back to a 20-19 advantage after a Peterson kill. The teams tied four times before Charles Gehrke’s kill and a Greyhound hitting error gave the Dons the set. 

Loyola broke out to a 16-9 lead in the second set, but Gilman clawed back to 23-22 after an ace from Evan Choi. Peterson landed a kill shot in the corner, putting the Dons on the verge. 

Following a Loyola hit error, Gilman was whistled for a lift violation, giving the Dons a commanding 2-0 advantage. There were 18 ties in the third set, before Heinze’s kill and Peterson’s block kill put Loyola up, 24-22.

“I think both teams played much better today than the first two games. In the first two games, we had a ton of errors and they had a ton of errors,” said Greyhounds coach Diego Matorras. “I think it could’ve gone either way…today they were the better team. We were close until 20-20 (third set) and they served a little bit better.”

After getting swept at Mount St. Joseph in last year’s semifinals, Baier knew Loyola was primed for a run in 2025 with his veteran nucleus.

“We just knew we had to execute, and just concentrate on staying focused, and super aggressive all year,” said Baier. “Aggressive serves, aggressive attacking, and never let ourselves get complacent.”

The Dons have won nine volleyball championships, most in MIAA history. 

“It's an awesome feeling..just euphoric. We lost in horrible fashion in the past two years and we were just really hungry this time,” said Peterson. “I think we're the best in the league and we proved that today and all season.”