Jan. 21, 2006

Box Score

CHICAGO - No. 12 Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball had three players reach double figure kills in handing New Jersey Tech a three-game loss (30-26, 30-15, 30-23) Saturday evening at Alumni Gym. With the win, LU improves to 5-0 this season, while NJIT falls to 2-1 after suffering its first loss of the year.

Senior opposite hitter Chris Kozlarek (Evergreen Park, Ill.) led the Maroon and Gold with a match-best 15 kills, six blocks (one solo and five assists) and six digs. Junior middle blocker James Grunst (Milwaukee, Wis.) added 13 kills and posted a .812 hitting percentage to go along with six blocks (one solo and five assists). Junior setter Brian Guntli (St. Louis, Mo.) tallied 45 assists and senior libero John Thuet (St. Louis, Mo.) had a match-high 11 digs for Loyola.

The Ramblers opened the first game with an 18-9 lead with five kills from Kozlarek and three from Grunst. The Highlanders posted a comeback to slice LU's lead at 27-24 on a service ace from Greg Wagner before kills from Kozlarek and Grunst closed out the match for the Maroon and Gold. In game two, the Ramblers managed to turn an early 7-5 lead to 28-15 thanks to a 21-10 run en route to a 30-15 win. The Ramblers posted a .538 hitting clip in the stanza, while holding NJIT to a -.091 hitting percentage.

NJIT started the final game with a 7-3 lead before Loyola started chipping away until finding itself in a 9-9 tie. The Ramblers then outscored the visitors from New Jersey by a 18-11 margin to take a 27-20 lead on a kill from senior middle blocker Corey Kloos (Florissant, Mo.), who finished with 11 stops on the night. Both teams traded the final six points with Kozlarek ending the stanza with a kill on match point. Eduardo Welter's eight kills and Rodrigo Correa's 22 assists paced New Jersey Tech on the offensive end.

The Ramblers return to action on Tuesday, Jan. 24, where they will travel to Kenosha, Wis., to face Carthage in a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association crossover match at 7 p.m.