Jan. 30, 2009

Box Score

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The 14th-ranked Loyola men's volleyball team jumped out to a two-game lead Friday night in its Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) opener at IPFW, but stumbled over the final three games to suffer the 3-2 (30-27, 30-20, 27-30, 28-30, 12-15) defeat.

The Ramblers (3-1, 0-1 MIVA) fell behind early in the first game when IPFW (4-1, 1-0 MIVA) took its biggest lead of the night at 16-12 and maintained the advantage until a Mastodon attack error tied the game at 23. Freshman Mike Bunting notched a kill in the next play to give Loyola the lead, while several IPFW attack and service errors paved the way for the Ramblers, and another kill by Bunting sealed the 30-27 victory.

Loyola raced out to a 10-7 lead in the second game behind a balanced offensive attack which included kills by five different players. Midway through round two, a kill by Bunting began a 5-0 Rambler run, during which they pulled ahead 18-10 behind two attack errors and two service aces by junior Michael Morice. IPFW never got closer than five the rest of the way, as Loyola would claim a 30-20 win, keyed by a .464 (16-3-28) attack percentage.

Game three proved to be a battle, as no team held more than a four-point advantage. Loyola's biggest lead of the game came at 15-11, following a Mastodon ball-handling error and kill by senior Nick Lamoureux. IPFW chipped away until finally tying the game at 24. Bunting and junior Krisjanis Berzins responded with kills to put the Ramblers back in front by two, but the hosts answered right back with a 4-0 run to take a 28-26 lead. Berzins notched one more kill, but the rally fell just short, as IPFW pulled away to take game three, 30-27.

Another battle waged on in game four, as neither team could build a comfortable lead. Lamoureux's kill would even the score at 17, but a Rambler service error followed to give the Mastodons the lead for good. They pulled ahead by as much as four at 29-25, before Loyola rallied with three straight points to come within one. IPFW notched a kill in the next play, however, to force a decisive fifth game after a 30-28 win.

The Ramblers were in control for much of the fifth game, holding an 8-5 advantage midway through, until an IPFW rally evened the score. The game was tied again at 12 when the Mastodons tallied the next three points off a kill and two Loyola attack errors to claim the 15-12 victory and the match.

Bunting recorded a match and season-high 23 kills, while Berzins added his third consecutive double-double with 18 kills and 10 digs and Lamoureux posted 19 kills. Redshirt sophomore Michael Hutz dished out a match-high 69 assists, redshirt freshman Tommy Becker recorded a team-best 14 digs and Morice tallied nine kills and a team-high four service aces and .727 (9-1-11) hitting percentage.

Loyola returns home for the first time since its season opener to host nonconference foe MSOE on Feb. 4 in a match beginning at 7 p.m. in Alumni Gym.