April 11, 2009

Box Score

QUINCY, Ill. - In action at Quincy for the second straight day, the Loyola men's volleyball team claimed a 3-0 (30-25, 33-31, 30-21) victory in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association play Saturday afternoon in Pepsi Arena. The Ramblers improve to 14-9 (3-5 MIVA), while the Hawks fall to 17-32 (0-10).

Loyola picked up where it left off last night in the first game, as kills by Brendan Styler and Nick Lamoureux helped build a five-point lead (10-5) early on. Quincy eventually battled back to even the score at 14, but the Ramblers responded with runs of 3-0 and 4-0 to pull back ahead for good. A service ace by Styler and Hawk service error closed out the opening game in favor of Loyola, 30-25.

In the second game, the Ramblers used a 4-0 run to rally back for an 8-6 advantage and eventually led by as much as seven (21-14), before Quincy battled back with a 5-0 run of its own to cut the deficit down to two at 21-19. Loyola fought to maintain the lead over the next several plays, but the hosts would knot the score at 27 and ultimately went ahead 30-29. The Ramblers responded with a kill by Domenic Dewaele and block by George Kamberos and Steve Thompson to take back control of the lead for good, as kills by Dewaele and Kamberos sealed the 33-31 victory.

The Ramblers wasted no time jumping out in front in the third game, going up 16-8 behind kills from Lamoureux and Krisjanis Berzins and several Quincy attack errors. The Hawks pulled within six (26-20) down the stretch, but that was as close as they would get, ultimately dropping the final game, 30-21.

Lamoureux posted a match-best .611 (13-2-18) hitting percentage and also added four blocks (2 solo), while Thompson added six blocks of his own and Styler (9 kills, 4 digs) and Dewaele (8 kills, 3 blocks) also had strong performances for Loyola. Kyle Exline dished out a match-high 25 assists and seven digs and Tommy Becker tallied eight digs in the win.

Loyola is back in action next week in a rare Wednesday night match versus MIVA rival Lewis beginning at 7 p.m. in Alumni Gym.