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Sergio Carrillo at a new school added another massive upset to their college career.
The setter making their first start in almost a month guided Purdue Fort Wayne to a .312 attack percentage in the decisive game as the team defeated No. 9/7 Loyola 25-18, 27-25, 23-25, 20-25, 15-12 on Saturday in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
This was the first time this season the Mastodons =have defeated a nationally ranked team, and the third time in Carrillo’s career to upset a nationally ranked team. Carrillo as a graduate transfer joined Purdue Fort Wayne in the offseason after guiding North Greenville to an upset victory against Princeton in the NCAA Tournament last year.
Carrillo finished with 40 assists and helped the Mastodons (13-8, 4-4 MIVA) hit more than .300 in two games against the Ramblers en route snapping their five-match losing streak.
Along with the offensive performance, Carrillo led Purdue Fort Wayne with 11 digs and added six blocks.
Loyola (17-3, 8-1 MIVA) in its first conference loss out-hit Purdue Fort Wayne .220 to .216 but was limited to a match-worst negative-.059 attack percentage in the decisive game.
Purdue Fort Wayne trailed 8-6 in the final game before going on a 7-1 run to take a lead that it would not relinquish. That late-match run also featured multiple blocks from Carrillo and middle attacker Bryce Walker.
Walker ended with a match-high nine blocks and was one of two Mastodons with double-digit kills.
Walker had 14 kills and one error on a team-best .520 attack percentage. Opposite Jon Diedrich led Purdue Fort Wayne with 19 kills and was set a season-high 62 times.
Loyola pin-hitters Cole Schlothauer and Parker Van Buren each also had team-high 19 kills. Schlothauer and Parker Van Buren were the only Ramblers with more than six kills and more than 15 attack attempts.
The Ramblers entered on a 10-match winning streak and were the only remaining undefeated team in MIVA play. Loyola with this loss remains in first place but now has a one-match lead ahead of second-place Lindenwood