Feb. 23, 2008

Box Score

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Junior Nick Lamoureux poured in a career-high 20 kills as No. 11 Loyola University Chicago defeated UC San Diego, 3-1 on the final day of the Lewis Invitational. The Ramblers won 30-25, 30-26, 29-31, 30-22 at Neil Carey Arena on Saturday evening. With the win, head coach Shane Davis earns his 100th career-win and Loyola improves to 8-6 overall, while the Tritons fall to 4-12 on the year.

Game one was close throughout, as the two teams traded points and were tied a total of nine times. With the score locked at 19-19, senior opposite hitter Ian Anderson crushed an Eric Leserman serve in for the kill. Up by one (20-19), the Ramblers never looked back and took the first game, 30-25.

San Diego struck first in the second game, as the Tritons took a quick 2-0 lead on a pair of Rambler attack errors. Loyola refused to back down as it battled back and took a 20-14 advantage on a pair of kills by Lamoureux. A Mike Hutz kill pushed the game to match-point for the Ramblers and a kill by Anderson sealed the 30-26 victory as the Ramblers took a 2-0 cushion into the locker room.

The third game was a battle throughout, as the Ramblers and Tritons fought through 15 ties and a couple of lead changes. Lamoureux knocked down seven of his 20 kills in game three alone. After a Joe Guntli kill knotted the score at 29 apiece, two consecutive kills by Jason Spangler gave UC San Diego a 31-29 win over the Ramblers.

With the score tied at seven, a kill by Guntli sparked a Rambler rally as Loyola went on a 7-2 run to claim a 14-9 advantage. The Guntli kill was the turning point for the Ramblers, as they jumped ahead of the Tritons 22-15 on back-to-back kills by Lamoureux and Daniel Leis. The Ramblers led by as many as 10 points (28-18) and eventually coasted to a 30-22 victory.

Lamoureux finished the match with 20 kills and six total blocks, while Anderson and Guntli contributed 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Hutz dished out 52 assists and seven digs for the Ramblers.

Loyola returns to action on Friday, February 29, when it goes head-to-head with MIVA foe IPFW in Fort Wayne, Ind. First serve is set for 6 p.m.