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Purdue Fort Wayne
Loyola Chicago
'Dons Come From Behind to Upset No. 14 Loyola
1/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Jan. 30, 2009
Fort Wayne, IN -- After the first two games Friday night, the IPFW men's volleyball team 4-1, (1-0 MIVA), looked down and out against No. 14 Loyola 3-1, (0-1 MIVA). However behind an improved offense and a gritty defense, the Mastodons rallied to top the MIVA's only undefeated team 3-2 (27-30, 20-30, 30-27, 30-28, 15-12) in front of over 500 fans at the Gates Sports Center.
Sophomore Darryl Shank led the charge for the 'Dons with his first career double-double, striking 16 kills (16-4-34), and picking up 12 digs. Shank also tallied five blocks and a service ace.
Also for the 'Dons, freshman Phil Peterson had a career high 14 (14-7-37) kills while sophomore Ben Duckworth added 12 (12-7-34) and junior Oliver Kook had 10 (10-2-20). Setter Dan Mader logged also his first career kill to compliment his career high 44 assists.
Junior Matt Pliske tied Loyola's Tommy Becker for the match high in digs with 14, while Duckworth led all players with six blocks.
During the first set, Kook got things rolling for IPFW with a kill from Mader as the 'Dons led first at 1-0. Seven ties later the match was knotted at 11 thanks to a kill from the Ramblers' hot-handed Nick Lamoureux. Loyola then recorded errors four of the next six points as IPFW took the lead 16-12 forcing a Loyola timeout. Loyola rallied back to trail by only one at 17-16 before IPFW took at time out of its own. IPFW continued to hold the lead until an attack error tied the first frame at 23-23. The teams swapped points before Loyola pulled ahead 27-25 on an IPFW attack error. Even though the Ramblers had two service errors to finish the game, the 'Dons had two attack errors to match before a kill by Loyola's Mike Bunting ended the first set 30-27.
Set two started with a kill from Shank assisted by Mader, but the 'Dons found themselves in a hole early trailing 7-4 after a service ace from Loyola's Mike Morice. IPFW kept it close until back-to-back errors forced a Mastodon timeout. Despite a kill from Peterson out of the timeout, the 'Dons allowed the Ramblers to rattle off a 5-0 run to lead 18-10. The run ended with a Rambler error, but the pressure continued until halftime when Loyola sealed set two with a service ace, 30-20. Set two also included the Ramblers highest hitting percentage of the night going 16-3-48 (.464).
After the intermission, the 'Dons got back to business. Despite twelve ties, there was only one lead change in the third set. It was all the 'Dons needed. IPFW trailed at 1-0 after Lamoureux nailed a kill. IPFW and Loyola then matched each other point-for-point until Loyola gained some separation at 15-11 when Lamoureux connected again. IPFW then went on a run of its own to close the lead to one at 16-15. IPFW trailed at 22-19, and again at 26-24 but a 4-0 (which included two kills from Shank and an ace from Duckworth) run changed the momentum for IPFW as it clawed back into the lead 28-26. A timeout from Loyola wasn't enough as this one went to IPFW 30-27. IPFW didn’t record an attack error in the third set as it went 13-26. Shank hit .636, (7-11).
The 500-plus fans began to let themselves be heard by the fourth game and IPFW responded. Despite being down early at 2-0, a kill from Duckworth and a Loyola error tied things back up 2-2. IPFW never trailed by more than two and took its first lead at 17-16 when Shank nailed an ace and the 'Dons took the lead for good. Kook notched an ace of his own and an attack error by Lamoureux forced Loyola head coach Shane Davis to use a timeout at 20-17. The 'Dons lead by as many as four at 29-25 before Loyola etched out three last points to make it 29-28. Peterson put the nail in game four with a kill from Mader 30-28.
The beginning of the fifth and final set didn't look promising for the resilient 'Dons. Loyola's Mike Bunting connected on Michael Hutz' assist for the Ramblers as they led 1-0. Kook responded with a kill to tie but then Loyola capitalized on a IPFW service error and an ace of their own 3-1. Back-to-back errors from Loyola were followed by consecutive kills from the Ramblers' Bunting forcing IPFW coach Arnie Ball to call timeout at 5-3. IPFW responded well tying the match at 5-5 and again at 8-8. The ‘Dons took their first lead of the final set at 10-9 on a Loyola attack error. Three ties later the match came down to the final three points at 12-12. Kook connected with his 10th kill before Loyola answered with two attack errors to end the match 15-12.
With the win, the 'Dons beat their first ranked opponent since April 5, 2008 when they knocked off MIVA foe No. 15 Lewis 3-1 (30-27, 30-24, 27-30, 30-22).
Loyola's Bunting led all players with 23 kills and 26.5 points. Lamoureux and Krisjanis Berzins finished with 19 and 18 kills respectively. Morice had a match-high four aces for the Ramblers and setter Michael Hutz finished with 69 assists.
The Mastodons next welcome No. 13 Ohio State tomorrow, (Saturday), for another Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association battle. Match is set to start at 7:00 PM.
~Dons~
