LORETTO, PA--Loyola-Chicago swept NJIT, 3-0, in the season opener for the Highlanders at the Red Flash Invitational hosted by Saint Francis U inside DeGol Arena.

The Ramblers, which moved to 3-0 on the season, won in straight sets: 25-21, 25-20 and 25-23.

Loyola-Chicago was led by a match-best 18 kills from Cole Schlothauer followed by Luke Denton with 12 kills.  Setter Garrett Zolg led the match with 41 assists while Schlothauer led the Ramblers with eight digs.

NJIT's Julian Meissner and Alvaro Gimeno paced the Highlanders with 14 kills apiece.  Meissner hit .346 for the match while Gimeno combined for a .294 hitting percentage.

Middle Martin de Chavarria recorded a .455 hitting percentage with five kills, no errors and 11 swings, including two block assists.

Freshman setter Griffin Fieseler making his collegiate debut piled up 35 assists, two kills and one block assist for NJIT.  Jens Feldthus led the match with 10 digs followed by libero Joe Kennedy with seven.

A back-and-forth affair early in the first set, saw Loyola-Chicago go ahead by three, 15-12, after breaking a 12-all tie and scoring three consecutive points. After a timeout by NJIT to regroup, the Highlanders scored three straight points of their own, knotting the set at 15-15, on a kill by Alvaro Gimeno.  NJIT went ahead by one, 18-17, on a kill by Julian Messiner but the Ramblers 5-0 run to regain the lead 22-18.  A pair of kills by Julian Meissner, cut the deficit to three, 23-20, but the Ramblers finished the set off with a kill to secure a 25-21 victory.

NJIT scored the first two points of the second frame and the Ramblers answered with a 6-1 run, pulling ahead, 6-3.  NJIT closed the gap to within two, 12-10, after back-to-back points but the Ramblers recorded a trio of kills for a five-point advantage, 15-10, resulting in an NJIT timeout.  Trailing 18-14, NJIT used a 6-2 spurt to slim the Rambler lead to one, 20-19, after three straight points by the Highlanders, including kills from Gimeno and Messiner.  The Ramblers scored the final five points of the set to go ahead, 2-0, with a 25-20 victory.

In the third set, NJIT scored the first four points of the set and held an early 5-2 lead.  After seven ties heading into the mid-teens, NJIT scored three straight points, including block assists from Luca Berger, Jens Feldthus and Julian Meissner, to go ahead 14-12.  NJIT continued its momentum and held a three-point lead, 20-17, on a kill by Griffin Fieseler.  The Ramblers went on a 7-2 run, pulling ahead 24-22, resulting in an NJIT timeout.  After a kill by NJIT's Luca Berger the Ramblers secured the 3-0 sweep on an NJIT error for a 25-23 victory.

NJIT will return to action on Saturday at 12Noon against No. 4 Lewis.

Lewis is 11-1 all time against the Highlanders with its most recent meeting in 2019.  NJIT's lone win over the Flyers was on January 20, 2006 when the Highlanders won a five-set thriller, 3-2.