Feb. 4, 2007
Box Score
Dubuque, Iowa - After appearing in limited duty in the first eight matches this season, sophomore outside hitter Joe Guntli made his presence felt in the starting lineup in the last two games of No. 12 Loyola's 3-0 win (30-11, 30-20, 30-12) over Clarke on Sunday afternoon in the Kehl Center. Guntli tied teammate James Grunst for match-high honors with 13 kills.
Loyola (6-3, 1-2 MIVA) outhit Clarke (2-8) .550 to .040 to take the three games in convincing fashion. Three Ramblers notched double-figures in kills and five converted over .500 of their attack attempts. Senior setter Brian Guntli set up the Rambler with a match-high 42 digs.
Grunst led the way with 13 kills on 15 attempts with only one error for a season-high .800 hitting percentage followed by Joe Guntli's .706 mark with 13 kills on 17 attempts (13-1-17). Senior opposite hitter Ian Anderson followed closely with a .550 success rate (12-1-20).
Loyola used overwhelming runs to take control of each match. The Ramblers wasted little time in the first game by taking an early 10-2 lead, featuring two kills by Grunst, from which the Crusaders would never recover.
Played tightened in the second game with the two teams seemingly trading points to a 14-14 tie. Kills by Joe Guntli and Grunst followed by two Clarke attack errors sprung Loyola to a 6-1 run and a 20-15 lead which gave them control of the match.
Similar to the first game, Loyola stormed to an early 14-5 lead then added to its lead with nine consecutive points to earn a 22-7 advantage. Joe Guntli had four kills during Loyola's 9-0 match-clinching run.
The Ramblers aced the Crusaders nine times on the serve while Clarke did not manage one and committed eight errors. Grunst and Anderson tied for the match-high with three ace serves apiece.
Senior libero Zach Bailey led the Rambler defense with an impressive performance featuring a match-high eight digs and he also tied for a match-high mark by tying with Grunst with two block assists. Loyola out-blocked Clarke 4.5 to 1 and the only block managed by Clarke was a block solo by Peter Dudek.
The Ramblers resume MIVA Shondell/Dunlap Division play against Lewis at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Romeoville, Ill.
