Match Stats
- #10 Loyola defeats #11 Ball State 3-0 (25-22, 25-11, 25-23)
- Loyola improves to 9-4
- Ball State drops to 11-4
Loyola Chicago toppled Ball State at home Saturday on 12 kills from Ben Plaisted.
Loyola hit .405 for the match, with 9 kills from Collin Mahan and 8 from Jeff Jendryck. Cole Murray wound up with 9 digs as Loyola held Ball State to just .146 in hitting percentage.
Ball State fought hard in the first and third sets, but a rough second set had them in a deep hole against Loyola. Ball State hit just -.187 in that second set with only 4 kills. Matt Szews ended with 12 kills total along with 7 digs in a big effort for the visitors.
Press Releases:
Loyola:
CHICAGO
Final Score: No. 10 Loyola 3, No. 11 Ball State 0 (25-22, 25-11, 25-23)
Records: Loyola (9-4, 5-1 MIVA); Ball State (11-4, 3-3 MIVA)
Location: Gentile Arena — Chicago, Ill.
Stats: Box Score 
| Season Stats
In Short…
Ben Plaisted ripped a team-high 12 kills and Jeff Jendryk recorded a career-best 10 blocks as Loyola University Chicago rolled to a 3-0 victory (25-22, 25-11, 25-23) over No. 11 Ball State this evening inside Gentile Arena. With the win, the Ramblers move to 9-4 overall and 5-1 in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association play.
How It Happened
A Paul Narup service ace gave the Ramblers an early 2-1 lead in the first set. With the Loyola lead sitting at 10-8 following a Plaisted kill, Ball State took off on a 10-3 run to race in front, 18-13, and prompt a Rambler timeout. A kill from Cole Murray sparked a Rambler comeback that saw the Maroon & Gold take a 23-22 lead off of a Collin Mahan spike. Two points later, Mahan’s sixth kill of the night wrapped up a stirring 25-22 first set win for Loyola.
The Ramblers jumped all over the visitors from the onset in the second set. Jendryk provided the bookends to a 6-0 Rambler run that helped Loyola surge out in front, 7-1. Plaisted notched one of his two blocks on the evening to up the Rambler edge to 17-5. As was the case in the opening set, Mahan provided the exclamation point to give the Ramblers a comprehensive 25-11 victory.
Murray’s third service ace of the night pushed Loyola out to a 5-4 lead in set three. Mahan added an ace of his own shortly after to stretch the margin to 11-8. With its back to the wall, Ball State charged in front, 19-17, off of kills from Matt Szews and Matt Walsh. Jendryk hammered home a kill before teaming up with Ian Cowen on a block to regain the lead for Loyola, 21-20. Following a Murray spike that gave the Ramblers match point, Cowen sent the crowd home happy as his service ace clinched a 25-23 win for the Ramblers in the third set.
Inside The Box Score
– Tonight’s victory extended Loyola’s home win streak over Ball State to 19 games. The Cardinals’ last victory in Rogers Park came during the 1999 season.
– Plaisted’s 12 kills on the night fell just two short of the junior’s season-high of 14.
– Jendryk added eight kills of his own as he surpassed his previous career high for blocks that was set against Princeton back on March 14, 2016.
– Bolstered by Jendryk’s big night, Loyola owned a dominant 14.0 — 5.5 edge in blocks.
– Cowen dished out a match-high 33 assists.
– Szews led the Ball State attack with 12 kills.
Up Next
Loyola is back in action on Friday when it welcomes local-rival No. 7 Lewis to Gentile Arena. First serve against the Flyers is set for 7 p.m. The match will be carried live locally on Comcast SportsNet Chicago Plus.
Ball State:
CHICAGO, Ill.– The No. 11 Ball State men’s volleyball team was swept by MIVA foe No. 10 Loyola-Chicago Saturday night.
The Cardinals game out strong is set one, leading by as much as five. Loyola rallied back from the five point deficit and forced a Ball State timeout at 18-20. The Ramblers continued to rally and won the opening set, 25-21. Brendan Surane and Matt Szews led the team with four kills each. Mitch Weiler had four digs, leading the team in that category. Weiler and Matt Walsh also added two kills.
It was all Ramblers in the second set. Loyola came out hot and went ahead early 6-1, forcing an early Ball State timeout. The Cardinals could not stop the momentum of the Ramblers and fell with a final score of 25-11. Loyola finished the set with 13 kills and an impressive .545 hitting percentage.
After a 10 minute break, Ball State came out energized in set three. Szews knocked down five kills whileBlake Reardon added four. The Cardinals tallied 14 kills, seven block assists and a .357 hitting percentage in set three. The closing set had 13 tied scores and four lead changes before Loyola took the set, 25-23, to win the match.
Szews led the team in kills with 12. He also had a team high seven digs along with one block. Matt Walsh finished the night with five kills and one block. Surane and Reardon both tallied four kills and one dig. Anthony Lebryk‘s three block assists lead the team. Senior Connor Gross had 29 assists. As a team, the Cardinals racked up 30 kills, 27 digs and 10 total blocks.
Ball State (11-4, 3-3 MIVA) will return to the court next weekend as they take on Lindenwood (Feb. 24) and Quincy (Feb. 25). The two conference matches are both set to begin at 7 p.m.
For the most up-to-date news on the Ball State men’s volleyball team, please follow @BallStateSportsand @BallStateMVB.
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