March 10, 2006

Box Score

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - No. 10 Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball closed out its three-match California road trip Thursday night with a 3-2 (25-30, 32-30, 27-30, 30-16, 15-10) loss to defending NAIA champion California Baptist at CBU's Van Dyne Gym. With the win, Cal Baptist improves to 9-7 this season, while the Ramblers fall to 15-4 on the year.

Senior opposite hitter Chris Kozlarek (Evergreen Park, Ill) paced the Maroon and Gold with 18 kills, nine digs, six block assists and four service aces. Senior middle hitter Corey Kloos (Florissant, Mo.) tied his season high with 16 kills and five blocks (one solo, four assisted), while fellow classmate Nathan Gustus (Mount Prospect, Ill.) recorded a career-best 15 kills and 30 attacks. Junior setter Brian Guntli (St. Louis, Mo.) finished the match with 64 assists and junior middle blocker James Grunst (Milwaukee, Wis.) posted a season-best nine block assists for the Ramblers.

Loyola opened the first game with an early 8-5 lead on a kill and a service ace from Kozlarek. Cal Baptist then scored nine of the next 18 points to close within three points at 17-14 on a kill from senior Seidu Ajanako, but a Kloos kill on the next play would stop the Lancers scoring momentum. The Ramblers cruised to the win by scoring 13 of the final 24 points, including a Kozlarek kill at 29-25.

The Maroon and Gold broke a 3-3 tie early in the second game with seven service points by Kozlarek and senior libero John Thuet (St. Louis, Mo.) to claim a 12-5 edge. After the Lancers sliced their deficit to four (15-11), the Ramblers posted an 11-7 scoring drive to capture their biggest lead of the game at 26-18 on a kill from Kloos. Cal Baptist then went on a 12-4 run that tied the score at 30-30 on a LU hitting error. An Ajanako solo block and a kill by senior Shamsu Awudu evened the match at 1-all heading into the break.

A service ace by senior setter Ryan Martin (Lockport, Ill.) helped Loyola take a 6-4 lead to start the third game. Three consecutive Kozlarek service aces later hiked LU's advantage at 10-5, but Cal Baptist posted a 9-2 run to stay within distance at 16-14 on another hitting error by the Ramblers. Senior outside hitter Chris Nelson's (Racine, Wis.) kill gave the visitors a 25-21 lead, however, the Lancers scored four of the next seven points to trail 28-27 on a sophomore Romain Vetter kill. The Ramblers used kills from Guntli and Gustus to finish the stanza. In the fourth game, Cal Baptist posted a .464 hitting percentage, while holding the Maroon and Gold to a -.032 hitting clip. The Lancers took a 13-7 advantage on a kill by Ajanako and later used a 17-9 scoring drive to send the match into a fifth game. With the score tied at 5-5 in the fifth game, Cal Baptist claimed a 7-5 lead on an Awudu kill and another Rambler hitting error. Loyola later came back to tie the game at 8-8 on a Cal Baptist hitting error, but the Lancers scored the next three points to take an 11-8 advantage and held on for the win.

Awudu led all players with 25 kills and seven digs, while Ajanako added 22 kills for California Baptist. Plunkett tallied a match-best 70 assists and seven digs, and Gunthor hit .727 with nine kills and four block assists. The Lancers tallied a .387 hitting clip for the match and held LU to a .275 hitting percentage. Cal Baptist held advantages over the Maroon and Gold in kills (77-67), digs (35-29) and solo blocks (5-1). The Ramblers were tops in team blocks (14-11) and both teams recorded seven service aces.

Loyola returns to action this Monday night at Alumni Gym with a MIVA crossover match against Carthage at 7 p.m.