March 20, 2012
Final Stats
CHICAGO - Joseph Smalzer tallied a career-high 22 kills, and hit a .471 success rate to help the Ramblers earn the season sweep over the Cardinals with a 3-1 victory tonight in Gentile Arena. Loyola flew past Ball State by scores of 25-15, 21-25, 25-23, 25-17 to improve to 13-10 overall (4-3 MIVA), while the Cardinals fell to 12-8 (4-5).
Loyola came out on fire an immediately jumped to an early 11-5 lead in the first. A kill by Matt Sutherland brought the Cardinals within five (14-9) but that is as close as they would come as the Ramblers kept their distance for the remainder of the set. Consecutive kills from Smalzer and Mike Bunting pushed the score to 19-11 and, after two service errors, Dainis Berzins wrapped it up with a kill.
It was a tighter race in the next two sets. At the 9-5 mark, Jamion Hartley launched a bullet that shook the Ramblers and began a four-point run for the comeback. Loyola trailed 9-12 when a Rambler block kick-started a run to tie the score at 12. Every time the Maroon and Gold managed to steal a few points, the Cardinals answered with a run of their own to keep the lead. Loyola fought three set points before Dan Wichmann and Kevin Owens combined for a block to put away the set, 21-25.
The two teams traded points in the third set for nine tie scores and three lead changes. After a Loyola timeout, setter Matt Mirick assisted a trio of kills to Smalzer to take a 20-19 lead. Smalzer later posted the kill to frame the set point and then finished it out, 25-23, with his third service ace of the night.
In the final set, the teams were once again locked close, before a seven-point run gave the Ramblers a commanding lead at 16-8. At the 17-10 mark, Loyola flew through another run, paced by kills from Berzins and Smalzer, and placed the score at 21-10. Cody Caldwell notched the final point of the night, ending the fourth at 25-17.
In addition to his 22-kill performance, Smalzer also tallied four service aces in the match to lead the offensive strike. Berzins added nine kills while Bunting and Cody Caldwell finished with six apiece. As a team, Loyola outhit its opponent .264 to .165. However, Ball State held the 10.5-8.0 advantage.
Loyola continues an action-packed week as they fly to Phoenix, Ariz. to face Grand Canyon in back-to-back matches over the weekend. The Ramblers will battle the Antelopes on Friday, March 23 and Saturday, March 24. Both contests begin at 8:00 p.m. CST.
