Loyola, Ball State, Pepperdine, USC, NJIT Grab League Wins

Sweeps were the order of the day as No. 6 Loyola and No. 12 Ball State picked up MIVA victories and No. 8 Pepperdine grabbed an MPSF win.

No. 7 Ohio State notched a road non-conference win over No. 19 Saint Francis, while NJIT swept Charleston in EIVA action.

In the final match of the day, USC edged past No. 20 Stanford in four sets to garner its second MPSF win of the year.

Four of the six matches saw offenses soar over .300, including .400 plus efforts by the Ramblers, Waves and Buckeyes.

#6 Loyola def. #9 Lewis 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-22)

• Loyola moves to 17-4, 7-1 MIVA; Lewis falls to 14-7, 5-3 MIVA
• Romeoville, Illinois
• Box Score
• Loyola Recap / Lewis Recap

Key Stats: Loyola hit at a .432 clip as a team, including a .471 effort in Set 2, and boasted a 49-39 lead in kills in a sweep of instate foe Lewis on Saturday. The win managed a 3-2 edge in aces and 5-3 lead in blocks in the win, which kept the Ramblers atop the MIVA standings at 7-1.

Stat Leaders: Senior middle Jeff Jendryk and junior outside Collin Mahan notched 13 kills apiece to pace the Ramblers, while senior outside Ryan Jamison (8), senior opposite Ricky Gevis (7) and junior middle Paul Narup (7) followed. Jendryk had a flawless night offensively, hitting at a .684 clip with 13 kills in 19 errorless swings. Mahan hit .290 and added nine digs, while Gevis served up two of the team’s three aces. Narup paced the team at the net with four stuffs.

Redshirt sophomore outside Ryan Coenen put down 13 kills and added a team-high eight digs and an ace to lead Lewis. Redshirt junior outside Julian Moses, redshirt freshman middle Tyler Mitchem and redshirt junior Jake Walenga added 8, 7 and 6 kills respectively. Mitchem hit at a team-high .385 clip and put up a team-leading two blocks alongside Moses.

It Was Over When: After a tie at 9, Loyola pulled away with six of the next seven points. Jendryk downed two kills and Gevis served up an ace to give the Ramblers a 14-10 lead. Lewis was within one at 17-16 thanks in part to three Loyola miscues. The Ramblers built the lead back to four at 22-18 as Narup and Mahan added a kill apiece and teamed up for a block. The Flyers took a timeout and got a kill out of the break, but Loyola earned a match-point try at 24-20 with a Jendryk putdown. Kills by Coenen and Moses prolonged the match, before Mahan ended the night at 25-22.

#8 Pepperdine def. #11 Grand Canyon 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-20)

• Pepperdine moves to 12-6, 6-3 MPSF; Grand Canyon falls to 15-8, 2-6 MPSF
• Malibu, California
• Box Score
• Pepperdine Recap / Grand Canyon Recap

Key Stats: A .415 hitting effort and a 17-kill advantage gave Pepperdine all it needed in a home sweep of Grand Canyon. The Waves outdid the Lopes in kills (45-28), aces (4-1) and blocks (6-5). GCU hit just .183 in the match, due in part to a -.043 effort in Set 1.

Stat Leaders: Three Waves players reached double-digit kill totals in the sweep led by redshirt junior outside David Wieczorek‘s 15. Senior outside Colby Harriman (13) and senior outside Alex Harthaller (12) followed, with all three hitting .400 or better for the match and each serving up an ace. Harriman hit at a team-high .526 clip, while Wieczorek hit .500 and Harhaller notched a .435 effort. Junior outside Michael Wexter put up four blocks, while Harthaller and Harriman added three apiece.

Redshirt senior middle Ashton King managed six kills and redshirt senior outside Cullen Mosher added five to top the GCU offense. Freshman outside Trevor Weary and senior outside Cody Williams chipped in four putaways each. King paced the team on the block as well with four stuffs, while senior setter Zachary Melcher turned in three stuffs and served up the team’s lone ace. Williams went 4-for-4 to lead the Lopes hitters.

It Was Over When: Grand Canyon rallied from down 5-3 to take an 8-6 lead in Set 3 thanks to three Pepperdine miscues. The Waves answered the rally with an 8-4 run with help from three Lopes errors and two kills and a block by Harriman. Two King putaways had GCU within one at 15-14, but Pepperdine scored five of the next six, including two kills each by Harthaller and Wieczorek, to go up 21-15. Three different players posted kills in a 4-1 Grand Canyon rally, but a service error gave the Waves a match-point try at 24-20. A stuff by Wexter and Harriman two points later ended the night.

#12 Ball State def. #13 Fort Wayne 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-20)

• Ball State moves to 13-9, 6-2 MIVA; Fort Wayne falls to 15-7, 3-5 MIVA
• Muncie, Indiana
• Box Score
• Ball State Recap / Fort Wayne Recap

Key Stats: The Ball State Cardinals finished off a season sweep of instate rival Fort Wayne, following Wednesday’s five set road win with a home sweep Saturday. Ball State owned the advantage across the stat sheet, outhitting the Mastodons .280 to .160 and besting Fort Wayne in kills (43-34), aces (4-1) and blocks (9.5-4).

Stat Leaders: Sophomore outside Matt Szews was the leading hitter in the match with 13 kills on a .290 hitting effort for BSU. Senior middle Matt Walsh (7), freshman outside Ben Chinnici (6) and sophomore outside Blake Reardon (6) followed. Walsh registered a match-high six blocks, while hitting at a team-high .400 clip (7-1-15). Junior middle Parker Swartz and sophomore setter Jake Romano served up two aces apiece.

The Mastodons used a balanced attack with three players notching eight or more kills led by redshirt junior outside Tony Price‘s nine. Sophomore middle Richie Diedrich and sophomore outside Pelegrin Vargas each followed with eight putdowns. Diedrich hit at a team-best .500 lcip (8-2-12), while Vargas chipped in eight digs and an ace. Freshman middle Tomas Gago added four kills and a team-high four blocks, while Price and junior setter Michael Keegan managed two stuffs apiece. Keegan notched a double-double with 26 assists and 14 digs.

It Was Over When: After a tie at 7-all, Ball State broke away in the final stanza with a 6-2 run. Szews had two kills and three others notched putaways as the Cardinals grabbed a 13-9 lead. The Mastodons cut the margin to two five times, last at 18-16, as BSU committed four errors, but could not break through. Two Reardon kills and two Fort Wayne miscues put Ball State up five at 22-17. A Swartz putdown and Romano ace put the Cardinals on the hill at 24-18. A Szews kill three points later capped the sweep at 25-20. Ball State hit at a .600 clip in the final set, while Fort Wayne notched a .381 effort.

#7 Ohio State def. #19 Saint Francis 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-19)

• Ohio State moves to 15-4; Saint Francis falls to 8-14
• Loretto, Pennsylvania
• Box Score
• Ohio State Recap / Saint Francis Recap

Key Stats: The Buckeyes’ consistent and near error-free hitting effort lifted the team to a non-conference sweep. Ohio State hit at a .463 clip, with efforts of .444 or better in all three sets, and boasted a 44-22 lead in kills, while limiting SFU to a .100 effort, including a -.030 clip in Set 2. OSU edged the Red Flash 4-2 in blocks and 6-5 in aces.

Stat Leaders: Senior outside Nicolas Szerszen downed 14 kills at an error-free .519 clip (14-0-27), while adding eight digs and two aces to lead the Buckeyes. Senior outside Maxime Hervoir followed with 10 kills, a team-high .563 hitting effort, seven digs and an ace. Redshirt junior middle Blake Leeson added eight kills and a team-leading two blocks, while hitting .500. Redshirt freshman opposite Jake Hanes chipped in seven kills, six digs and two aces.

Redshirt senior outside Stephen Braswell‘s six kills were tops among the Red Flash, while senior outside Brandon Buck and junior outside Cole Thompson were right behind with five apiece. Thompson pulled up a team-high eight digs, while Braswell and Buck served up two aces apiece. Buck also accounted for a team-best two blocks.

It Was Over When: Ohio State built an 8-3 lead in Set 3, including aces by Szerszen and Leeson. SFU pulled within two five times, last at 12-10 as four players notched kills and the Buckeyes had two service errors. OSU scored five of the next seven, as Szerszen chipped in a kill and an ace. Trailing 17-12, the Red Flash chipped away with a kill and ace by Thompson and two more Buckeye serving miscues, to pull within two again at 19-17. Ohio State came through in the end with a final 6-2 run with help from three Leeson kills and a final putdown by Hervoir.

 NJIT def. Charleston 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-23)

• NJIT moves to 4-13, 2-6 EIVA; Charleston falls to 11-5, 3-4 EIVA
• Newark, New Jersey
• Box Score
• NJIT Recap / Charleston Recap

Key Stats: In the first of two weekend meetings in Newark, NJIT bested Charleston via sweep, hitting at a .314 clip and besting its foe 38-32 in kills, 6-2 in aces and 8-4 in blocks. The win ends a five-match skid for the Highlanders, while the loss snaps a three-match win streak for the Golden Eagles. NJIT knocked on the door of a .300 hitting effort in the first two sets and ended the night with a .343 clip. Charleston did not hit above .100 in the first two stanzas, but managed a .233 effort in Set 3 to bump their percentage to .122 on the night.

Stat Leaders: Freshman opposite Alvaro Gimeno (13) and sophomore opposite Piotr Namiotko (12) guided the Highlanders offensively with double-digit efforts. Gimeno hit at a .478 clip and added a team-high three aces. Sophomore middle Luca Berger added five kills on a .556 hitting effort to go with a team-leading four blocks. Senior middle Kevin Myren chipped in five kills on an .833 effort (5-0-6) and added three blocks alongside Namiotko and junior setter Ricardo Whitaker.

Senior outside Ryan Santos notched 11 kills and six digs for Charleston. Sophomore middle Adriel Roberts (5), junior outside Brandon Greenway (4) and freshman outside Max Senica (4) were next for the Eagles offensively, although the latter two hit .000 for the match. Greenway and junior middle Eugene Stuart put up three blocks apiece.

It Was Over When: NJIT sprinted out to an 8-2 lead as Namiotko notched two kills and two blocks. Charleston called timeout and narrowed the gap to three at 11-8 thanks in part to three Highlander miscues. NJIT scored five of the next seven, including two Berger putaways and a kill and an ace by Gimeno, to take a 16-10 lead. The Golden Eagles rallied to within one at 19-18 as the Highlanders gave away five more points on errors and Rajahl Moxey and Stegan Krumerac notched aces. Kills by Gimeno, Tyler Brandow and Berger pushed NJIT ahead 24-21. Two Charleston kills prolonged the match, but Myren wrapped up the 25-23 win and the sweep.

USC def. #20 Stanford 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-23, 26-24)

• USC moves to 6-15, 2-5 MPSF; Stanford falls to 4-17, 1-7 MPSF
• Palo Alto, California
• Box Score
• USC Recap / Stanford Recap

Key Stats: UCS outhit Stanford .271 to .202 and boasted slight edges in aces (8-7) and blocks (12-10) in the win. The Cardinal downed seven more kills in the match (52-45).

Stat Leaders: Redshirt junior outside Jack Wyett downed 15 kills and added two blocks, while freshman middle Sam Lewis tallied 12 kills, six blocks and two aces to lift USC to victory. Junior outside Ryan Moss added seven putaways on a team-best .438 hitting effort, while junior outside Gianluca Grasso posted seven kills, four blocks and three aces.

Freshman opposite Jaylen Jasper recorded a match-high 20 kills, but it was not enough for the Cardinal. Freshman outside JP Reilly added 13 kills on a team-best .357 hitting effort, while freshman middle Kyler Presho chipped in 10 kills, four blocks and two aces. Redshirt senior middle Kevin Rakestraw put up six blocks and added six kills. Freshman outside Leo Henken served up four aces.

It Was Over When: Stanford scored four of the first five points in Set 4, including a Henken ace and a kill and a block by Rakestraw, and later boasted a four-point lead at 10-6. USC was within one six times, last at 15-14, but could not break through. Down 19-16, the Trojans rallied again, with six of the next eight, to steal the lead at 22-21. Moss downed two kills and Grasso put up a solo block in the run. Jasper and Presho notched kills to give Stanford back the lead at 23-22. Trailing 24-23, USC called timeout and rallied with three straight points on two kills and a block by Lewis to prevent a fifth set.