CHICAGO, Ill. (Apr. 12, 2008) – The Saint Francis men's volleyball team had 10 service aces and held a 12.0 to 7.5 advantage in team blocks, but came up just short in a 3-2 loss on Saturday night at Loyola Chicago to close out the regular season.
Sophomores Nick Rivett (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Fox Chapel) and Jordan Varee (Meadville, Pa. / Conneaut Valley) again posted double-digits in kills with 16 and 23, respectively, in the tough 30-27, 23-30, 23-30, 30-25, 13-15 loss. Rivett had a double-double with 10 digs and also added two aces and five blocks. Varee hit .391 for the match with three aces, nine digs and one block. He is now eight kills shy of tying, and nine shy of breaking, former All-American Marc Honore's single-season kills record of 425.
SFU dropped to 12-14 overall by dropping its regular season finale, but the squad finished the season strong by winning three of its last four matches, all on the road. The Red Flash will now await their EIVA quarterfinal opponent. Saint Francis will host that match at 7 p.m. Saturday at DeGol Arena.
After battling early, the Red Flash took a comfortable 15-7 lead on an Eric Syty (Clarence, N.Y. / Clarence) service ace forcing a Loyola timeout. The Ramblers fought back closing the lead to one (26-25), but were unable to go ahead. Saint Francis knocked down three consecutive points and put the game away, 30-27.
Loyola came out determined in the second game as the Ramblers held Saint Francis to an .028 hitting percentage. A kill by Nick Lamoureux gave Loyola its largest lead of the game (18-13), prompting a Red Flash timeout. Up 26-23, the Ramblers took advantage of a trio of Red Flash errors and used a Joe Guntli service ace and kill to close out game two, 30-23.
Saint Francis led early in game three, but the Ramblers rallied from behind and knotted the game at 16-apiece. The two teams matched each other point-for-point and found themselves deadlocked again (20-20). Back-to-back kills by Ian Anderson and Kris Berzins sparked a Rambler rally that would give the hosts a three-point lead (26-23). A trio of kills by Berzins, Guntli and Michael Morice would give Loyola a 30-23 victory.
The Ramblers took a quick 5-1 advantage on a kill by Lamoureux, but the Red Flash would not go quietly. With the score knotted at 16-16, Saint Francis went on an 8-4 run and eventually took the fourth game by a score of 30-25 forcing a fifth and deciding game.
Loyola was first to strike in game five, as the Ramblers took a 5-3 lead on an error by Saint Francis. The Red Flash fought back and evened the score at 6-all, but back-to-back kills by Berzins gave the Ramblers a two-point lead (8-6). The two teams traded points until a Lamoureux kill broke the 13-13 tie, pushing the game to match-point. The Ramblers held on to win the game, 15-13.
Senior Mark Steele (Martinsburg, Pa. / Central Martinsburg) dished out 47 assists and added four kills on a .444 hitting percentage with no errors on nine swings. He also added a match-high 14 digs and four blocks. Sophomore libero Markus Schultze (Berlin, Germany / Anne-Frank) contributed 11 digs.
Berzins led the Ramblers as he recorded his fourth double-double of the season (19 kills, 13 digs). Mike Hutz's 59 assists and 11 digs gave him his team-leading seventh double-double of the year. Lamoureux (18 kills), Guntli (16 kills), Anderson (13 kills) and Morice (12 kills) all scored in double-figure kills for the Ramblers.
