March 6, 2010
Box Score
CHICAGO - George Kamberos tallied his first double-double of the season to lead the 11th-ranked Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team past Quincy, 3-0 (30-21, 30-22, 30-26), on Saturday afternoon (March 6) in Alumni Gym. The win gives Loyola its 12th in a row, as the Ramblers now boast a 12-0 overall record and a 6-0 record in the MIVA. Quincy falls to 4-9 overall and 1-4 in MIVA play with the loss.
Kamberos finished the match with 10 kills and 12 digs, both marking season highs. Mike Hutz also set a career high in service aces, posting six for the match.
"I thought our guys played well," said Loyola head coach Shane Davis. "We were able to get a lot of different guys in there, which was good to see. Quincy gave us everything they had and definitely challenged us out there."
Quincy came out of the gates swinging, taking a 5-2 lead in the first set after a Joseph Sokol kill. One of Domenic DeWaele's eight first-set kills tied the score at six and a kill from Kris Berzins gave the Ramblers a two-point edge at 10-8. After the Hawks notched back-to-back kills to tie it up at 10, the Ramblers went on an 11-4 run to take a 21-14 lead. Dewaele then tallied another kill to help LU take a nine-point lead at 24-15. The teams traded points until two Dan Leis kills closed the set in favor of the Ramblers.
A Kamberos ace and a Berzins kill gave Loyola a quick 3-0 lead in the second before Quincy took four of the next five to tie it up at four. The Ramblers then ripped off a 9-0 run fueled by two Hutz aces and two Leis kills to give LU a 13-4 lead. A kill by Matt Adler extended the Ramblers' lead to 11 at 18-7, with the teams trading the next several points. Loyola went on a 4-0 run, only to be answered by a 5-0 Quincy swing to cut the Rambler lead to eight at 26-18. Back-and-forth play ensued before a Brendan Styler kill ended the second set with Loyola on top.
Four Loyola errors helped Quincy take a 6-1 lead early on in the third set. Three Hawk errors then helped Loyola come within one at 6-5, but the visitors would remain in front for the next several points. Another Kamberos kill then tied the score at 11, and two aces from the senior sparked a 6-1 run that left LU ahead by four at 17-13. Quincy responded by going on a 6-0 run and taking the 19-17 lead. The teams swapped points until the Ramblers went on a 9-5 run to close out the set and the match.
The Ramblers travel to California next week to take on three top-10 teams in five days - No. 6 Long Beach State on Tuesday (March 9), No. 5 UCLA on Friday (March 12) and No. 3 Cal State Northridge on Saturday (March 13). All three matches are slated for 9 p.m. CT.
