Feb. 1, 2008

Box Score

Erie, Pa. - The Mercyhurst men's volleyball team hung tough with No. 14 Loyola (Chicago), but the Ramblers were a bit stronger in a 30-21, 30-25, 30-27 victory Friday in a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) match.

Mercyhurst hit a season-best .324 for the match, including .407 in game two and .444 in game three, but the Lakers had no answer for Loyola's duo of senior Ian Anderson and junior Nick Lamoureux. The pair combined for 30 kills, and just four errors, on 49 swings and piled up 13 of those kills in the opening game to set the tone for the match.

Although Mercyhurst entered the contest still looking for its first win, the Lakers never backed down and seemed to gain momentum throughout the match. Mercyhurst fell behind early in game one and could never battle back, but the Lakers led for much of game two and played even with Loyola for most of game three.

Dave Newman had two service aces as Mercyhurst jumped out to a 6-2 lead in game two and never trailed until a Mike Hutz ace put Loyola on top 19-18. The Ramblers won eight of 10 points to take a 25-20 lead and rolled that into a 30-25 victory.

In game three, a Jonathan Gurr kill pulled the Lakers within two points at 15-13 but Mercyhurst was unable to get any closer. Trailing 25-19, the Lakers got back-to-back kills from Tim Wagner and Gurr, followed by a Loyola ball-handling error to get within three. Mercyhurst still trailed 29-26 but inched within two points on another Wagner kill but Loyola put the match away on Anderson's 19th and final kill.

Wagner led Mercyhurst with 12 kills and he added three blocks, two of which were solo. Ron Cierniakoski added five kills on five swings for a perfect attack percentage and David Hatten had 34 assists.

Loyola improves to 5-2 on the season and 3-0 in MIVA play as Mercyhurst falls to 0-8 overall and 0-2 in the conference. The Lakers will host Lewis in another MIVA contest Saturday at 7 p.m.