Jan. 4, 2014
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CHICAGO - After getting off to a dream start in 2014, the Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team fell to No. 11 USC in four sets (25-27, 25-18, 20-25, 15-25) inside Gentile Arena to conclude a three-game homestead. The loss was the Ramblers' first this season after knocking off No.1 UC Irvine and No. 3 BYU earlier this weekend.
"I think we had a bit of a surface-level breakdown at times, whether it was our swing selection or our set selection, " said head coach Shane Davis. "We ran into a very good USC team. I know they're ranked eleventh, but they're definitely in the top five in my opinion. They are a really well-balanced team, and we had a hard time slowing them down."
In the opening set, the Ramblers jumped out to an early lead before USC tied the set 11-11. The Trojans continued to gain momentum and led by as many as four points before a Joe Smalzer kill brought the Ramblers within one. The teams trade points to the 25-all, but a kill by USC's Alex Slaught and a Loyola error gave the Trojans the opening set, 27-25. Nick Olson led the Ramblers with five kills.
After USC hit .368 in the first set, the Ramblers were able to hold the Trojans to a .133 hitting percentage in the second set. Thomas Jaeschke stepped behind the service line with the Ramblers down 9-8, but eight serves and five Trojan attack errors later, and the Ramblers found themselves in the lead 16-10. Loyola never looked back and charged ahead to win the set 25-18 on a kill by Owen McAndrews.
In the third set, the Ramblers fell to an early deficit when three consecutive attack errors made the score 14-9. Loyola began to slowly chip away, and two kills by Dainis Berzins later in the set made it a 19-17 game. A Smalzer kill was sandwiched between two Loyola service errors, however, which gave the Trojans a two-point lead. USC then scored three unanswered points on its way to closing the set, 25-20.
The Trojans were too much for Loyola to handle in the fourth set, taking the first point off a Loyola attack error and never giving up the lead. A kill from Maddison McKibbin gave USC their highest margin of the night and made the score 23-12. Two Trojan errors brought the Ramblers back within nine, but a Josh Kirchner kill stemmed the tide. USC won the set 25-15 and boasted a robust .458 hitting percentage, while the Ramblers hit just .031 in the final set.
Smalzer finished the night with 13 kills and two service aces to lead the Ramblers, while McAndrews contributed 10 kills and three assisted blocks. Jaeschke and Peter Jasaitis also pitched in with 9 digs apiece.
Loyola will take a two-week hiatus before welcoming Erskine to Gentile Arena on January 17. The next day, the Ramblers will wrap up their five-game home stretch when they host Mount Olive.
