April 20, 2007

Box Score

CHICAGO - The third-seeded No. 11 Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball team earned a 3-0 sweep (30-20, 30-24, 30-26) against sixth-seeded Quincy in a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Quarterfinal-round match on Friday in Alumni Gym.

Loyola (23-6) got a balanced effort in every aspect to earn its sixth consecutive win to cap its last appearance of the season in Alumni Gym. Through four seasons as head coach, Shane Davis owns a 55-8 record at home during his tenure.

With 10 kills, Anderson reached double figures in for the 26th time in 29 matches and has at least tied for the team lead in kills on 21 occasions. The Ramblers earned a .394-.229 advantage over the Hawks in hitting percentage, pounding the floor with 42 kills on only 71 attempts.

Middle blocker Nick Lamoureux had 10 kills on 14 attempts and a .714 hitting percentage on the attack. Lamoureux had his sixth double-figure-kill performance and tied for the team lead in kills for the first match this season. James Grunst continued the efficiency on the attack with a .727 hitting percentage, converting nine kills on 11 attempts with only one error.

The Ramblers improved to 19-1 when hitting above .300 on the attack as setter Brian Guntli set up the Loyola attack with a match-high 34 assists. Guntli is second in school history with 5,197 career assists and is fifth on the all-time list with1,353 set-ups this season.

Quincy (5-26) out-blocked Loyola 6.5 to 4.5 but the Ramblers countered with a 22-13 edge in digs and a 6-4 advantage in service aces. Grunst and Joe Guntli tied for the team-high with two blocks apiece, the only Ramblers with multiple blocks but outside hitter Nathan Gustus stepped up defensively in the back row with a match-high six digs while libero Zach Bailey added five digs in addition to five assists.

The Hawks' Peter Coley led the way with a match-high 14 kills on 25 attempts for a .480 mark and also posted a match-high five blocks. Eric Wooldridge had 28 assists while libero Mike Contee had a team-high five digs.

Third seed Loyola advances to play the winner of Saturday's Mercyhurst/IPFW in the semifinal match at 4 p.m. CT on Thursday in Columbus, Ohio.