Cardiac Ramblers Down No. 5 Penn State, 3-2

CHICAGO (Jan. 30, 2010) - Down two sets to one, the Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team won back-to-back sets to defeat No. 5 Penn State, 3-2 (30-26, 22-30, 24-30, 30-25, 15-7) in front of a raucous crowd of 2,035 in Alumni Gym on Saturday night (Jan. 30). With the win, the Ramblers move to 6-0 and remain the only undefeated NCAA Division I-II team. The Nittany Lions fall to 6-2 in the loss.

"I thought we played well," said Loyola head coach Shane Davis. "We kind of lost the wind in our sails in the third set, but we were able to bounce back and take the next two. We moved some things around and it paid off for us."

The teams exchanged points to open the first set, with a service ace by Kris Berzins giving LU a three-point lead at 13-10. Ian Hendries blasted back-to-back service aces to help the Lions even the score at 16, with an error and a Joe Sunder kill giving PSU an 18-16 lead. The Ramblers jumped back in front with a kill by Matt Adler at 20-18 and extended their lead to three with another Berzins ace at 24-21. The teams traded points until a kill by Bunting ended the set in Loyola's favor.

The teams went back and forth early on in the second, but Penn State took a 13-9 lead after back-to-back Loyola errors. The Lions upped their lead to eight after a 4-0 run capped by an LU error at 28-20, with a Sunder kill closing the set with PSU in front.

Penn State took an early 3-0 lead in the third, but three errors helped Loyola tie the score at six. PSU used two more kills from Sunder to take a 15-11 lead, which they would not give up for the rest of the set. Loyola came within one point after back-to-back PSU errors at 19-18, but a 6-1 run immediately after helped the Lions take the set.

Berzins' fourth ace of the night gave LU a 12-9 lead early on in the fourth. Two-straight kills helped PSU tie the score at 16, with the teams trading the next four points apiece. With the teams tied at 24, LU ripped off six of the next seven points, ending with another Bunting kill, to stay alive and force a fifth set.

The Ramblers' momentum clearly carried over into the final set, as the hosts jumped out to an early 7-2 lead after five Penn State errors. Loyola remained in the driver's seat, using two kills from Bunting and a Lion attack error to take the fifth set and the match.

Bunting led the Ramblers with 22 kills, while Berzins followed closely behind with 21. Will Price led the Lions with 22 kills.

The Ramblers return to the court after a week off from competition on Feb. 12 when they host NJIT at 7 p.m. in Alumni Gym.