Feb. 27, 2009

Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The fourteenth-ranked Loyola men's volleyball team's conference struggles continued, as Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) leader No. 15 Ohio State won in three (21-30, 27-30, 19-30) Friday night at St. John Arena. The Buckeyes improve to 7-6 (4-0 MIVA), while Loyola falls to 7-4 (0-3).

Ohio State took the lead for good at 4-3 early in the first game and never looked back. The Ramblers were able to pull within one, 17-16 after a Buckeye attack error, but the hosts responded with a prompt 4-0 run to extend the lead back to five. Ohio State out-hit Loyola .353-.125 en route to a 30-21 opening game victory.

The Ramblers came back to life in the second game, as they pulled ahead by as much as five, 7-2 in the early going behind kills from Matt Baleiko, Mike Bunting, Krisjanis Berzins, a Steve Thompson service ace and several Buckeye attack errors. Ohio State chipped away and eventually tied the game at 17, before claiming its first lead at 20-19. The Ramblers fought back and led 23-22, but a kill by Robbie Klein evened the game and a subsequent 3-0 run all but sealed the win for Ohio State, which went on to pull out the 30-27 second round victory.

Ohio State used a 5-0 run to take a 14-10 advantage it would never relinquish. The Ramblers never got closer than two points the rest of the way and the Buckeyes stayed hot with a match-high .500 (15-3-24) hitting percentage in the third game alone to secure the sweep with a 30-19 win.

Berzins led the team with 10 kills, while Bunting added nine kills and five digs and Michael Hutz contributed 26 assists.

Loyola is back in action tomorrow night at MIVA foe Ball State at 6:30 p.m. Central.