April 30, 2009
Box Score
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The fourth-seeded Loyola men's volleyball team fell 3-0 (30-22, 30-19, 30-25) at top-seeded Ohio State Thursday night in the second Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) semifinal match at St. John Arena. The Buckeyes advance to play third-seeded Ball State Saturday night in the championship match.
Ohio State (15-10) jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead to start game one, before a kill and service ace by Krisjanis Berzins put Loyola (17-10) on the board at 5-2. The Buckeyes extended the advantage to six, 10-4, but two kills and service ace from George Kamberos and a kill by Domenic DeWaele cut the deficit to two, 10-8. Kills by Kamberos and Berzins kept the Ramblers within striking distance until Ohio State used an 8-2 run to take a commanding 20-12 lead. Loyola was able to pull within six (28-22) after a Buckeye service error, kill by Kamberos and two straight service aces by Matt Baleiko, but Ohio State scored on the next two points to claim the first game, 30-22.
The two teams battled back and forth early on in game two, as the score was even at eight before Ohio State went on a 7-1 run to take the lead for good. Loyola cut the advantage to four (16-12) after kills by Dewaele and Nick Lamoureux and a service ace by Dewaele and would later pull within three (17-14) behind a kill from Lamoureux and service ace by Kamberos. The Buckeyes stormed back, however, and responded with an 8-2 run to pull out in front, 25-16 before taking the second game, 30-19.
The Ramblers opened game three strong, building their largest lead of the night at 10-6 behind a 4-0 run keyed by two Buckeye errors and two straight service aces from Lamoureux. Ohio State battled back to eventually knot the score at 12, before taking its first lead of the game at 15-14. The two teams traded points over the next several plays, but with the score even at 18, the Buckeyes outscored Loyola 7-2 to take a 25-20 lead and ultimately went on to secure the third game, 30-25.
Berzins led the Ramblers with 12 kills and four digs, while Kamberos added eight kills and four service aces and Kyle Exline tallied 20 assists.
