April 8, 2008

Box Score

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - The Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team's rally fell short as the Ramblers dropped a 3-1 (26-30, 24-30, 30-23, 22-30) contest at No. 15 Lewis on Tuesday night at the Neil Carey Arena. With the loss the Ramblers slip to 15-12 on the year and 7-5 in conference action, while the Flyers improve to 20-8 on the season and 7-4 in MIVA play.

Game one was a back-and-forth affair as the conference rivals traded points several times throughout the game. Lewis broke a 6-6 tie on a Drew Pickering kill, but Loyola refused to quit as the Ramblers battled back and re-knotted the score at 15-15 on a kill by Ian Anderson. The Ramblers and Flyers matched each other point-for-point and found themselves tied up again at 25-all. Lewis took advantage of three Rambler miscues and ended the game on a 5-1 run, taking game one by a score of 30-26.

The Flyers jumped out in front early in game two, taking a 12-7 lead on a kill by Brian Muesenfechter. The Ramblers fought hard to close the gap, but were unable to capitalize as they trailed by as many as seven points. Down 28-21, a kill by Michael Morice followed by a pair of Lewis errors cut the deficit to four (28-24), but two Rambler attack errors would end game two, 30-24, sending the Ramblers into the locker room down two games to none.

Loyola came out strong in the third game, as they went on a 9-3 run, turning a 7-5 deficit into a 14-10 lead. The Ramblers extended their lead to seven (22-15) on a Mike Hutz kill followed by a Lewis attack error. Despite three consecutive points by the Flyers, Loyola kept its focus and took a six-point lead on a Morice kill and a service ace by Kris Berzins. The Ramblers held on to their lead and took game three, 30-23.

The fourth game was close in the early stages as the two teams battled and found themselves in an 11-11 deadlock. The Flyers would drop back-to-back kills by Muesenfechter and Pickering to take a two-point lead (13-11) that they would never relinquish. The Ramblers pulled within a point on several occasions, but could not regain the lead and eventually dropped the fourth and final game, 30-22.

The Ramblers were led offensively by George Kamberos, Berzins and Nick Lamoureux who each registered double-figure kills in the loss. Kamberos narrowly missed a double-double as he posted a match-high 15 kills and nine digs, while Berzins and Lamoureux contributed 14 and 10 kills, respectively. Hutz was one dig shy of his team-leading seventh double-double of the year, as he registered 48 assists and nine digs.

Loyola closes out the regular-season this weekend when it hosts top-ranked Penn State and Saint Francis (Pa.) on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Both matches are set for 7 p.m. starts.