April 26, 2014

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CHICAGO - Cody Caldwell slammed 19 kills and No. 1 Loyola scored five of the final six points of the match to earn its second consecutive Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association title with a 3-1 (25-16, 27-25, 21-25, 25-21) victory over No. 11 Lewis tonight at Gentile Arena. The Ramblers (27-1) earn the MIVA's automatic bid to next week's NCAA Championship, which they are also hosting. Lewis, which will await its fate for an at-large berth, falls to 23-7.

Loyola jumped on its visitors from the opening serve, using two Caldwell kills to take a 4-1 lead. Lewis answered back and drew even at five apiece but Caldwell capped a four-point scoring run with an ace to give the Ramblers some breathing room. The lead ballooned to six (17-11) on a Lewis error and the LU offense was clicking on all cylinders, as kills from Thomas Jaeschke, Owen McAndrews, Joe Smalzer and Caldwell pushed the Ramblers to set point where another Flyer error closed out the set, 25-16. Loyola hit a sizzling .652 (16-1-23) in the set and were paced by seven kills from Caldwell.

The Ramblers took an early lead in the second set on a Smalzer ace but Lewis was able to settle in and the Flyers took a 10-8 lead on a Geoff Powell ace. Loyola was out of sorts a bit as Lewis opened an 18-13 lead but the Ramblers would not fold. Caldwell had a pair of kills as the home team cut the deficit to two (20-18) but they still trailed 22-19 before making one last push behind serving substitute Trevor Novotny. The sophomore served up two big points, making a key defensive play during one, to make it a 22-all game. Back-to-back kills from McAndrews gave Loyola first crack at the set (24-23) but a Powell kill and a Bobby Walsh block gave Lewis a set point with a 25-24 lead. McAndrews came up big again to keep Loyola alive and Jaeschke followed a Flyers error with a kill to cap the comeback and give the Ramblers a commanding 2-0 lead in the match with a 27-25 victory. Caldwell led the way with six more kills in the set as the Ramblers battled back from a sluggish start.

Lewis scored the first five points of the third set before Loyola found its feet and slowly began to chip away. A Caldwell ace capped a 7-3 run that cut the deficit to just one and the Ramblers grabbed an 11-10 lead after the second of two straight Smalzer kills. Loyola still led 13-12 before Lewis took control, rattling off seven straight points to open up a 19-13 advantage. It was a 20-18 game after a Lewis ball-handling error but Loyola would get no closer, with an error giving the Flyers a 25-21 win to send the match to a fourth set.

In that fourth set, Loyola took a 9-6 lead on a Jaeschke ace but Lewis scored three of the next four to get within a point. The teams traded points through the midway portion of the set before Lewis was finally able to get over the hump, forging an 18-all deadlock on a Greg Petty ace. It was 20-20 after a Loyola error and a Jaeschke kill gave the Ramblers a one-point lead and service. Kills from Jaeschke and Caldwell made it a 23-20 game and a block from McAndrews and Smalzer capped a 4-0 run that gave Loyola four championship points. They only needed two, as Caldwell's 19th kill wrapped up the title and sent LU back to the NCAA Championship.

The top hitting team, percentage-wise, in the nation, Loyola hit a sizzling .403 for the match and a terrific defensive effort, led by libero Peter Jasaitis' 13 digs, helped the Ramblers to a 46-24 edge in that category.

Caldwell finished with 19 kills, six digs and three aces but received plenty of help. McAndrews was terrific in the middle, ripping 14 kills (14-1-17, .765) while Jaeschke posted seven of his 14 kills in the fourth set. Smalzer gave the Ramblers a fourth hitter in double figures, finishing with 12 kills while hitting at a .385 efficiency.

Smalzer was named the tournament's most valuable player and he was joined on the all-tournament team by Caldwell, Jasaitis and Peter Hutz. Powell, Walsh and BJ Boldog from Lewis rounded out the team.

Loyola will find out its seed and road to the national title tomorrow morning as the NCAA announces the field. The selection show begins at 10 a.m. CT and will be streamed live on ncaa.com.

The 2014 NCAA Championship will take place at Gentile Arena next week. Action starts Tuesday night (April 29) with a pair of play-in matches. The national semifinals are set for Thursday night (May 1) with the national championship on Saturday (May 3). A limited number of tickets are still available and can be purchased online through www.loyolaramblers.com or by calling the ticket office at (773) 508-WOLF.