Boxscore (PDF)
CHICAGO (April 14, 2018)
In Short
Second-seeded Loyola University Chicago (22-6) received 13 kills from
Ricky Gevis and 10 from
Collin Mahan, to pick up a 25-19, 25-21, 25-22 victory over seventh-seeded Lindenwood (9-16) tonight at Gentile Arena in a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association quarterfinal round match. The win is the third in the last four outings for the Ramblers, who are ranked No. 8 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I-II Poll.
How It Happened
Lindenwood got off to a sizzling start, putting the Ramblers on their heels with a 7-2 burst to open the match. Loyola trimmed the deficit and trailed 16-14 before ripping off four unanswered points, the last of those coming on an ace from Mahan, that put the hosts on top, 18-16. After a Sam Schindler stop cut the lead in half,
Ryan Jamison,
Jeff Jendryk and Gevis recorded kills, followed by a Lions error, that bumped Loyola's lead to 22-17 and it never looked back en route to a 25-19 victory.
An offense that hit a sizzling .355 (16-5-31) in set two helped propel Loyola to a 25-21 decision and a 2-0 lead in the match. The Ramblers trailed by as many as three points in the second set before rallying to tie the score at 16. A
Paul Narup kill put Loyola ahead to stay and it gained some separation thanks to a 4-1 spurt that stretched the lead to 23-19.
The teams battled back and forth at the outset of set three, with Loyola finally breaking free courtesy of three consecutive points – on kills from Jendryk and Mahan, sandwiched around a Jendryk ace – that gave it a 15-12 edge. Loyola's lead would extend to five points (21-16) before Lindenwood staged a late rally to get within 24-22, but Narup and
Garrett Zolg teamed up on a block to close out the Ramblers' 25-22 decision.
A Look At The Numbers
- In addition to his team-high 13 kills, Gevis produced five digs and three blocks, while hitting .435 (13-3-23), to help Loyola atone for last year's quarterfinal round loss to Ball State.
- Jendryk pitched in seven kills, two blocks and a pair of aces to complement the work of Gevis and Mahan, and Narup totaled six blocks on the evening.
- Nathan Van Dellen led Lindenwood with 12 kills.
Up Next
The Ramblers host No. 3 seed Ball State Wednesday, April 18, at 7 p.m. in the MIVA Tournament semifinal round.
