March 21, 2008

CHICAGO - Despite taking the opening game, Loyola could not sustain its momentum and dropped a tight 3-1 (28-30, 30-28, 30-28, 30-26) decision to Ohio State tonight at Alumni Gym. The Ramblers slip to 12-10 (5-4 MIVA) with the loss while Ohio State keeps its grip on first place, improving to 12-6 (8-1).

In one of the themes of the night, the match opened with three straight service errors before Loyola took control. Two Buckeye errors and kills from Nick Lamoureux and George Kamberos pushed the Ramblers to an early 6-1 lead and they were able to maintain the lead, stretching it out to seven (16-9) after another Kamberos kill. Ohio State began to slowly chip away, pulling within three (24-21) on a Jason Tobkin block, but the hosts responded and established a seemingly comfortable 27-22 lead on a Lamoureux put-away. However, the Ramblers had to withstand one last Buckeye push as a service error pushed LU to game point at 29-27 before Michael Morice closed it out two points later.

Ohio State raced out to a 10-6 lead in game two on a Loyola error before the Ramblers made a push. Three kills from Ian Anderson helped Loyola to a 14-12 lead but OSU came right back, rattling off nine of the next 11 points to grab a 21-16 lead. Loyola still faced a 26-22 deficit before a Kris Berzins kill and a pair of Ohio State errors made it a 26-25 game. A Buckeye error later drew LU even at 27 but a Robbie Klein kill and a service ace that landed just inside the back line gave OSU a 29-27 lead and it was able to side-out for the win.

Game three took on a similar tone, with Loyola's early 10-7 lead proving to be the largest for either team. A Kamberos kill and a Morice ace broke a 25-all tie and gave the Ramblers some breathing room but a service error and a hitting error re-knotted the frame at 27 before Klein gave Ohio State a 28-27 advantage. Lamoureux drew LU even for the 14th and final tie of the set before two more Klein kills gave OSU a 30-28 win.

The Ramblers seemed poised to take the match to a fifth game, racing out to a 7-2 lead on an Anderson ace. A Lamoureux/Michael Hutz block extended the lead to 11-3 before the Buckeyes stormed back. A 4-0 run turned an 18-15 Loyola lead into a 19-18 Ohio State advantage and, despite pulling even three different times down the stretch, the Ramblers could not stem the tide, dropping game four, 30-26.

Anderson had a team-high 13 kills for Loyola, which hit just .137 for the match, and was joined in double figures by Lamoureux (11 kills) and Kamberos (11 kills, 13 digs).

Ohio State hit .208 on the night and had 25 of the combined 48 service errors.

The Ramblers look to get back on the winning track tomorrow night when they host IPFW at 7 p.m.