Feb. 28, 2014

Box Score

St. Charles, Mo. - Cody Caldwell pounded a match-high 12 kills and added three aces as No. 1 Loyola cruised to a 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-18) win over Lindenwood tonight in St. Charles, Mo. The Ramblers maintain their perfect conference record, moving to 15-1, 8-0 MIVA, while Lindenwood drops to 12-5, 3-4 with the loss.

"I am proud of how our guys kept their focus tonight," said head coach Shane Davis. "We know we have a target on our back anytime we step on the floor and Lindenwood played very well tonight. Any road win in conference is a good win and we look forward to heading back home."

Loyola jumped out to a 6-3 lead early in the opening set on the heels of two Caldwell aces but Lindenwood would stay close. A block from Joe Smalzer and Owen McAndrews gave the Ramblers a 15-12 lead and the visitors upped the lead to four (20-16) later on a Smalzer ace. However, the Lions would make a run and pulled within one (23-22) on a Colin Hackworth kill. A McAndrews kill sent the Ramblers to set point and LU took advantage of its second one, using a Smalzer kill to close out a 25-23, opening-set victory. Both teams were clicking offensively, as Loyola hit .500 (13-3-20) in the frame with Lindenwood not far behind at .458 (14-3-24).

Kills from Smalzer, Caldwell and Peter Hutz put Loyola on top early in the second set but Lindenwood rallied to pull even at 7-all. The teams were tied at 10 before the Ramblers were able to string some points together. Nick Olson had two kills and a block in a 5-0 LU run that made it 15-10 and the Ramblers kept pushing, opening an 18-11 advantage on Caldwell's third ace. Lindenwood tried to get back into the set but Loyola was too tough, using a Lions error and a Caldwell kill to wrap up a 25-18 win that gave the visitors a 2-0 lead in the match.

Poised to close out the match, Loyola scored five of the first seven points of the third set. Lindenwood quickly rallied but kills from McAndrews and Thomas Jaeschke pushed the Loyola lead to five, 12-7, midway through the set. Lindenwood was able to get as close as two but an ace and kill from Jaeschke helped the Ramblers open a seven-point bulge and they cruised to the finish line from there, with Olson and Smalzer teaming up for a block on match point.

Loyola hit .526 in the third set and finished the match hitting a scorching .485 (41-9-66). Lindenwood countered by hitting at a .368 clip but Smalzer had four of LU's eight aces as the Ramblers also impressed from the service line.

Caldwell hit .500 (12-3-18) and posted a team-best 15 points to lead the way. Jaeschke tallied nine kills and hit .571 while Smalzer (six kills, four aces, three blocks) and Olson (six kills, four blocks) also contributed. Hutz was terrific again pulling the strings, handing out 34 assists to go with three kills and a pair of blocks.

Loyola has nearly two weeks off before returning to action on March 13 against George Mason. First serve from Gentile Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m.