May 8, 2013
CHICAGO - Joe Smalzer (Palos Heights, Ill./Marist) and Lauren Moore (Antioch, Ill./Antioch) have been selected as Loyola University Chicago's Athletes of the Month for April it was announced today. Smalzer, a junior on the men's volleyball team, helped the Ramblers earn their first-ever NCAA Final Four appearance, while Moore, a junior on the softball squad, was a key cog in the lineup as Loyola went 15-5 in April.
The 6-foot-8, opposite-side hitter grabbed Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament Most Valuable Player accolades and notched 20 kills in a victory against top-seeded Lewis in the title match to give the Ramblers their first MIVA Tournament crown. Smalzer was also named American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Second Team All-America for the second consecutive season and in the process became just the second Rambler ever to earn All-America accolades in multiple years.
Smalzer collected even more hardware in April by earning MIVA Player of the Year and Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Server of the Year honors. He produced double-digit kills in all six of Loyola's April matches, and in a win over No. 11 Ohio State on April 6, went for 15 kills, seven service aces, and three digs, and racked up 16 kills and eight digs in the victory versus Ball State in the MIVA semifinals.
Moore hit .343 (23 for 67) with a pair of doubles, seven home runs, and 18 RBI to go with a .687 slugging percentage in 20 games last month. The third baseman, a First Team All-Horizon League selection for the first time in her career, hit safely in 15 contests in April and established a Loyola single-season record with 13 homers.
Throughout the season, Moore has delivered clutch hit after clutch hit and she book-ended the month with game-winning home runs. She belted a solo homer in the sixth inning to account for the only run in a 1-0 victory at Northwestern on April 2, then smashed a pair of deciding dingers in both ends of a doubleheader sweep of Green Bay on April 27.
Moore will lead Loyola, which captured a share of the Horizon League regular-season title, into this week's league tournament with a .338 batting average, 13 home runs, and 42 RBI.
