Feb. 2, 2008

Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Sophomore outside hitter Kris Berzins recorded 13 kills and 10 digs on the evening, but it was not enough as No. 14 Loyola dropped a 3-2 (26-30, 30-27, 16-30, 30-28, 13-15) decision to No. 8 Ohio State at St. John Arena on Saturday night. With the loss the Ramblers fall to 5-3 (3-1 MIVA) on the season, while the Buckeyes improve to 6-1 (5-0 MIVA).

Game one was a back-and-forth affair as the Ramblers and Buckeyes exchanged leads four times. Loyola held a 12-11 lead over Ohio State but the Ramblers could not hold on, as the Buckeyes took advantage of an Ian Anderson service error to even the score at 12. Ohio State took the lead for good on a pair of service aces from Kevin Heine. The Ramblers continued to battle, but were unable to regain the lead as they eventually dropped game one 30-26.

After falling behind early in game two, the Ramblers took their first lead of the game on a service ace by Anderson to put Loyola up 15-14. The conference rivals continued trading points as game two saw numerous lead changes and ties. LU took its final lead of the game on a kill by Anderson, which gave the Ramblers a 23-21 advantage. A kill by junior middle blocker Nick Lamoureux sealed game two for Loyola, 30-27, as the teams headed to the locker room knotted at one apiece.

The Buckeyes controlled game three early on as they held a commanding 12-4 lead over the visiting Ramblers. The hosts hit .375 in the game and cruised to a 30-16 victory, giving Ohio State a 2-1 advantage heading into game four.

The fourth game was a close contest throughout as the Buckeyes and Ramblers were tied 10 times and exchanged leads four times. Loyola out-hit Ohio State .531 to .438 in the fourth game and Berzins recorded five of his 13 kills in game four to lead the Ramblers. With the game tied at 28, Lamoureux pounded out a service ace to give Loyola a 29-28 advantage and an ensuing ball handling error by Ohio State's Daniel Mathews ended the game, as the Ramblers forced a fifth and deciding game.

In a close game five, Loyola took an early 3-0 lead on a pair of kills by Lamoureux and another by junior outside hitter Joe Guntli. The Buckeyes refused to go quietly as they battled back and evened the score at seven on a kill by Brett Versen. Versen's kills seemed to be the turning point for the Bucks as they went on to take a 14-11 lead. The Ramblers fought hard as they were able to pull within one (14-13), but Versen's 19th and final kill of the night ended the game and match.

Anderson recorded a team-high 14 kills, three digs and five total blocks for the Ramblers. In addition to his 13 kills and 10 digs, Berzins recorded six block assists on the evening and redshirt freshman setter Mike Hutz tallied 52 assists and 8 digs.

Robbie Klein tallied a match-high 25 kills and eight digs while hitting .320 to lead the Buckeyes.

The Ramblers return to action on Friday, February 8 when they battle No. 2 Penn State in State College, Pa. First serve is set for 6 p.m. Central.