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Purdue Fort Wayne
Loyola Chicago
Ramblers Rally Late to Top 'Dons in MIVA Quarters
4/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
April 24, 2009
Chicago, IL – IPFW went to Loyola-Chicago Friday night looking to overcome the No. 14 Ramblers in the quarterfinal round of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association tournament. The Mastodons came up short however falling 3-0 (30-26, 30-26, 30-28), ending the 2009 season.
Oliver Kook (9-0-12) and Ben Duckworth (9-13-26) led IPFW with nine kills each. Darryl Shank added eight kills and Nathaniel Berg had seven.
IPFW stumbled early giving up the first two points, but fought to keep it close only trailing 7-9. The ‘Dons went on a 4-0 run thanks to two kills from Duckworth, a kill from Shank, and a block as Loyola called a timeout after losing the lead. The Ramblers retook the lead at 17-16 right before Kook notched a kill tying things up for the last time in the set 17-17. After that, the ‘Dons struggled to remain consistent giving up an 8-3 run before using a time out while down 25-20. Kook tried to pull the ‘Dons back by swinging two of his nine kills, but it was too late as Loyola secured the first set 30-26.
IPFW held a brief lead in the second set early on, but Loyola would not be rattled. The Ramblers took off with a 5-1 run leading 10-5 and the ‘Dons couldn’t match LU’s performance. IPFW trailed by as many as six points before going on a 5-0 run of their own to trail 19-18. Loyola never forfeited the lead however and won the set 30-26.
During the third set, things looked promising for the young ‘Dons as they sprinted out to a 4-1 lead after a service ace from Kook. IPFW still held a 10-7 lead after a kill and ace from Duckworth. Kook came to life again shortly thereafter getting a kill and his second service ace as IPFW led 14-9. The ‘Dons looked to be in control as they led 16-11. Loyola then used a timeout and snuck back to within 16-14. Despite the Ramblers rallying, IPFW held off Loyola until the Ramblers took a late lead 26-25. Duckworth tied things up at 26-26 with a kill, but then a service error gave Loyola the go-ahead point. Kook smacked his final kill to tie things at 27-27. After the set hinged on a 28-28 tie, Loyola won the final two points with a kill from Kris Berzins and a service ace.
Loyola’s George Kamberos had a match-high 16 aces as fellow teammate Kris Berzins connected for 12 kills. Setter Kyle Exline gave out 34 assists on the night.
With the loss IPFW ends its season at 12-15. Loyola improves to 17-9 as it moves on in the MIVA tournament to play No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday.
Duckworth’s two service aces on the night push him into a tie for fourth place on IPFW’s single-season service ace total of 50. He ends the season tied with Matt Zbyszewski (2001-05) for the fourth highest single-season total.
Kook's nine kills on 12 attempts with no errors gave him a hitting percentage of .750, his high for the season when taking more than 10 attempts.
In the match, IPFW had more attack errors (24-17), but fewer service errors (13-19). IPFW held a slim lead in team blocks 8-7.
IPFW will graduate three players in Mike Morici, Marcus Dos Santos, and Nathaniel Berg.
~Dons~
