Loyola Downs No. 13 Ball State, 3-0, In MIVA Opener

CHICAGO - The Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team knocked off 13th-ranked Ball State, 3-0 (30-28, 31-29, 30-25), on Friday night (Jan. 15) in Alumni Gym. The Ramblers (2-0, 1-0 MIVA) came from behind to take the first two sets, but dictated the tempo in the third to seal the team's second-straight sweep. The Cardinals' loss comes in their first match of the 2010 season.

"I thought we played pretty well," said Loyola head coach Shane Davis. "We came in prepared for the match against a great Ball State team, who also came in pretty well prepared. I think what separated us was the fact that we were able to serve well and minimize our errors."

Ball State took an early 5-2 lead over Loyola in the first set, but the Ramblers battled back to even the set at nine. The Cardinals took another three-point lead at 13-10, but three-straight points from the Ramblers tied it at 13. The teams exchanged points before sophomore Domenic DeWaele tallied his third kill of the set to give LU its first lead at 18-17. The teams remained even until Loyola took advantage of two Ball State errors and another kill by Dewaele to take the lead for good at 26-23. Back-to-back kills from sophomore Mike Bunting closed out the first frame with LU on top.

The Ramblers used their momentum from the first set to take a 6-3 lead in the second set after kills by Bunting and Dewaele. Marcus Imwalle notched two kills of his own to help the Cardinals regain the lead at 10-9, which they eventually extended to 15-12 after an Evan Phiester kill. Ball State remained in front until three errors and a Berzins kill helped Loyola tie the set at 23. LU jumped back in front with a kill from Bunting to leave the score at 28-27. A kill by Dominic Spadavecchio tied the score at 29, but two Cardinal errors gave Loyola the final 31-29 edge and a 2-0 set lead.

The teams exchanged points to open the third set at 5-5, but two more kills from Dewaele pushed Loyola in front for good with the score at 9-6. The Cardinals would take the next two points, but that would be the closest they would get in the set, as the Ramblers kept at least a three-point lead for the remainder of the match. Loyola extended its lead to seven at 26-19 after a Dewaele kill and a Ball State attack error. The Cardinals would cut the lead to four after two Rambler errors and a Jamion Hartley kill, but a BSU service error would seal the match in Loyola's favor.

Dewaele finished the match with a team-leading 16 kills, while Bunting recorded 14 for the Ramblers. Senior Mike Morice led the defensive effort with seven blocks (1 solo, 6 assist). Hartley led Ball State with 14 kills.

Loyola is back in action next weekend, as the Ramblers travel to face MIVA rival IPFW on Friday night (Jan. 22). The match is slated for 6 p.m. CT.