No. 12 Loyola Spoils Comeback, Downs No. 13 Ohio State, 3-2

CHICAGO (Feb. 13, 2010) - The 12th-ranked Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team survived a late rally to take down No. 13 Ohio State, 3-2 (30-25, 36-34, 26-30, 27-30, 16-14) on Saturday evening (Feb. 13) in Alumni Gym. The Ramblers move to 7-0 overall and remain the only MIVA team with an unblemished conference record at 3-0.

"It was a huge win for our guys," said Loyola head coach Shane Davis.

"It's a big conference win, especially since we hadn't beaten them in almost two full years. It's a big monkey off our back and a confidence builder for our guys. Hopefully we can do the same thing on the road."

Loyola fell behind to open the first set, as five Ohio State kills opened up an 8-3 Buckeye lead. Domenic Dewaele fired a service ace to cut the deficit to one at 9-8, with two OSU errors giving Loyola its first lead of the night at 12-11. The teams then went back and forth, exchanging 10 points per side before the Ramblers ripped off a 6-0 run fueled by two Mike Bunting kills to take a 26-21 lead. OSU would cut Loyola's lead to four, but a kill from Kris Berzins ended the first set with LU on top.

The second set again began with the Buckeyes in front after a Ted Schoenfeldt kill gave OSU the early 8-5 lead. A Berzins kill tied the score at 10, with LU regaining the lead at 13-12 on a Dewaele ace. The teams exchanged points before three straight OSU errors gave the Ramblers a 23-20 lead. Three Loyola errors helped OSU tie the score at 24, with the teams trading blows for several points. After five set-point opportunities, back-to-back kills from Bunting and Berzins put the Buckeyes away at 36-34.

Six kills helped OSU open the third with an 8-3 lead, which it would extend to seven points at 14-7 after a Kevin Heine kill. The Buckeyes kept the same lead for the next several points, as they continued to contribute to their .421 hitting percentage for the set. A 7-2 LU run cut the deficit to two points at 22-20, but that would be the closest the Ramblers would come for the rest of the set, as two Mike Stefani kills closed the set in favor of OSU.

Loyola took the first two points to open the fourth set, but OSU notched eight of the next 11 points to take an 8-5 lead. A Berzins kill cut the lead to two at 12-10, with the teams exchanging the next several points. OSU then extended its lead to five at 23-18 after a Loyola attack error. The Ramblers used a 4-1 run to come within two points at 24-22, but the Buckeyes pulled away to win the set, forcing a fifth and final set.

The Ramblers regained momentum to open the fifth, as three Bunting kills helped LU take a 7-3 lead to open the frame. Back-to-back Loyola errors and two Heine kills helped OSU crawl back within one at 11-10, but Dewaele notched another kill to keep LU in front. A Schoenfeldt kill tied the set at 14, but a Bunting kill and an OSU error sealed the set and the match in favor of the Ramblers.

Bunting (23 kills, 11 digs), Berzins (18 kills, 12 digs) and Mike Hutz (61 assists, 15 digs) recorded double-doubles, while Dewaele notched 22 kills in the win. John Klanac led OSU with 23 kills.

The Ramblers are back in action next weekend, taking their first weekend road trip of the season against Juniata on Friday (Feb. 19) and George Mason on Saturday (Feb. 20). Both matches are set for 6 p.m. CT.