March 29, 2014

Box Score

Fort Wayne, Ind. - Thomas Jaeschke led a balanced attack with 12 kills and Cody Caldwell notched his second-straight double-double to lead No. 1 Loyola to a 3-0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-22) sweep of No. 14 IPFW tonight at the Gates Sports Center in Fort Wayne, Ind. With the win, the Ramblers (21-1, 11-0 MIVA) clinch a share of the MIVA regular-season title and the top-seed in next month's MIVA Championship. IPFW slides to 17-6, 6-5 with the loss.

"I am proud of how we came out tonight," said head coach Shane Davis. "It was a great improvement from Thursday night's match in terms of how we executed on our side of the net. We were scrappy on defense and took advantage of our opportunities."

While Loyola has been hampered by slow starts over the last two weeks, it came out strong on the road tonight. A block from Peter Hutz and Owen McAndrews helped stake the Ramblers to the early lead and LU took a 12-8 lead after an IPFW error. After the hosts closed to within a point, 13-12, Loyola used a five-point scoring run - capped by consecutive blocks - to open a commanding 18-12 advantage. Smalzer helped the Ramblers close it out from there, ripping two kills and adding another block down the stretch as Loyola claimed the opening set, 25-20. Smalzer slammed five kills in six errorless attempts in the set and the Ramblers outblocked the Mastodons, 5-1, in the opening frame.

Loyola had a 7-6 lead in the second set before taking control. After a Caldwell kill, Nick Olson teamed with Jaeschke and Peter Hutz for blocks on consecutive points as the Ramblers gained some separation with an 11-6 lead. IPFW managed to battle back and was within three (15-12) after an Eddie Rivera kill but it had no answer for Loyola down the stretch, as four different hitters delivered kills in a set-ending, 10-1 burst that gave the Ramblers a 25-13 win and a 2-0 lead in the match. Caldwell carried the banner in this set, as his five kills were just one fewer than the Mastodons could muster as a team.

Kills from Olson and Jaeschke helped Loyola sprint out to a 4-1 lead in the third set but IPFW rallied to grab a 6-5 lead on an Andrew Sellan kill. Kills from Jaeschke and McAndrews helped the Ramblers regain the lead and the teams battled back and forth through the middle stages of the set. A Caldwell kill made it a 17-all game and Jaeschke followed it up with an ace to give LU the lead. A Smalzer kill and an IPFW error pushed the lead to three (20-17) and the Ramblers were able to side-out the rest of the way, with Jaeschke accounting for the final three points with kills. The sophomore from Wheaton slammed seven kills in the final set to pace the Ramblers, who finished the match with a .423 hitting percentage.

Jaeschke's 12 kills led three in double figures. Caldwell finished with 10 kills and 12 digs for his second consecutive double-double while Smalzer racked up 10 kills and three blocks. McAndrews (six kills, five blocks) and Olson (four kills, four blocks) held things down in the middle while Hutz (38 assists) was solid in directing the offense.

Loyola aims for the outright regular-season title on Thursday night when it hosts Lindenwood at Gentile Arena. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.