April 5, 2014
Box Score
CHICAGO - Dainis Berzins paced a balanced attack with seven kills as No. 1 Loyola eased past Quincy, 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-21), this afternoon on Senior Day at Gentile Arena. The Ramblers (23-1, 13-0 MIVA) equal the school record with their 21st-straight win while Quincy slides to 13-16 (0-12) with the loss.
On an afternoon when all five Loyola seniors were in the starting lineup, the Ramblers took care of business from the opening serve. Two aces from Berzins helped the hosts to a 4-1 lead and three aces from Joe Smalzer highlighted another scoring run that gave the Ramblers a 12-5 advantage. It was 15-6 after a Cody Caldwell ace and Loyola cruised from there as Smalzer teamed with Owen McAndrews for a block to cap a 25-17, opening-set victory. Loyola hit .400 and served up six aces en route to taking the first set.
The second set started out the same way and Torey Darin had a kill and a block as Loyola scored six of the first seven points of the frame. A block from Berzins and Nick Olson later made it an 18-9 game and Olson had a pair of kills the rest of the way as Loyola eased to a 25-16 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match. Olson ripped five kills in seven swings and was a part of three of LU's six blocks in the set.
Continuing to substitute liberally, Loyola was able to close out the match in the third set. Another Darin ace staked Loyola to an early 5-2 lead but Quincy was able to hang around until the middle stage of the set. Kills from Berzins and Jim Zaluski helped LU open up a five-point lead before Hutz notched his first ace of the season to make it a 19-13 advantage. Kills from Zaluski and Darin helped get Loyola to the finish line with a Quincy error sealing the match.
Loyola hit .324 for the match as every player on the roster saw action and the Ramblers' defense limited Quincy to a .127 efficiency for the afternoon.
Berzins led the way with seven kills while McAndrews and Olson added six apiece.
Loyola wraps up the regular season next Friday (April 11) when it travels to Columbus to take on Ohio State. First serve is set for 6 p.m. CT.
