March 22, 2014
Box Score
CHICAGO - Cody Caldwell slammed a match-high 14 kills as No. 1 Loyola capped a busy week by collecting its third win in five days with a 3-0 sweep (25-12, 25-20, 25-22) of Saint Francis (Pa.) tonight at Gentile Arena. The Ramblers extend their winning streak to 17 and improve to 19-1 on the season. The Red Flash slides back to .500 (9-9).
"This was a good way to wrap up a tough, but successful, week," said head coach Shane Davis. "It was nice to get another win on our home floor and now we have to get ready for a tough Ball State team."
After dropping the first set in each of its previous two matches this week, Loyola charged out of the gates tonight. Three straight Saint Francis errors gave the Ramblers an early 8-3 lead and Dainis Berzins rifled a pair of aces in a five-point run later that make it a 15-6 game. A block from Nick Olson and Diego Rodriguez extended the margin to 13 (21-8) and Loyola eased to the finish line, using Caldwell's seventh kill to wrap up a 25-12 victory. The Ramblers hit a blistering .812 (13-0-16) in the set while holding the Red Flash to a .000 (7-7-19) efficiency.
The second set was close early before a Joe Smalzer ace and a Caldwell kill helped Loyola open up a 13-9 advantage. Saint Francis managed to hang in there, using a 5-1 run to slice Loyola's five-point lead down to one, 20-19. However, a James Zaluski kill helped the Ramblers regain their rhythm and Caldwell had three kills out of Loyola's last four points as LU earned a 25-20 win to go up 2-0 in the match. Caldwell and Zaluski had five kills apiece in the set to spearhead the Rambler offense.
The third set followed a similar pattern as Loyola slowly inched out to a 13-9 lead on a Red Flash error. It was a five-point margin (15-10) after a Caldwell ace but Saint Francis would not go away, crawling back within one (17-16) on a Loyola error. The Ramblers' lead was still only one as late as 23-22 before two Berzins kills gave LU a 25-22 win to seal the match. Berzins led Loyola with four kills in the set.
Loyola hit a sizzling .544 as a team for the match compared to a .286 mark for the visitors and Smalzer and Berzins each had three aces as the Ramblers served up nine for the match.
Caldwell capped a terrific week with another sizzling performance, ripping 14 kills in 16 errorless swings (14-0-16, .875) to lead the offense. Smalzer accounted for nine kills, five digs and three blocks with Berzins and Olson pitching in with eight kills apiece.
The Ramblers return to action on Thursday night (March 27) when they host Ball State at Gentile Arena. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
