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Nicodemus Meyer after contributing on the match-winning block lifted his hands above his head and looked upward towards the Gentile Arena ceiling.
It was a picturesque ending in a fifth-game overtime to cap off a career night for Meyer.
Meyer led all players with a career-high 11 blocks as No. 8/8 Loyola defeated No. 7/7 CSUN 25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 23-25, 18-16 on Saturday in Chicago.
The middle attacker had three blocks in the decisive fifth game to help the Ramblers secure the non-conference victory. In addition, Meyer had the game-winning block in the third game to finish a 5-0 run and complete Loyola’s comeback from a 23-20 deficit.
The Ramblers had a season-high 20 blocks and limited the Matadors to less than a .200 attack percentage in three of the five games.
Along with Meyer, setter Ryan McElligott had season-high seven blocks and pin-hitter Parker Van Buren added five blocks. Van Buren also teamed-up with Meyer to deliver the match-winning block.
Van Buren before that block and two kills in the fifth-game overtime and finished with a match-high 19 kills on a .375 attack percentage.
Loyola out-hit CSUN .237 to .185 en route to earning its sixth win in its last seven matches.
CSUN pin-hitter Jalen Phillips in the loss had a tema-high 17 kills, while outside attacker Lorenzo Bertozzi added 11 kills. No Matador pin-hitter, though, had more than a .200 attack percentage against the Ramblers.
The Matadors were able to force a fifth game in part because of the winning the second game on a substitution error.
Loyola trailing 24-23 attempted to substitute in a serving specialist who had already entered the game earlier as a serving substitute. The illegal substitution was not called until a stoppage in overtime two plays later, and CSUN retroactive was awarded a point to win the game 25-23.