Feb. 21, 2009

Saint Francis Battles Loyola To Five Sets, But Falls in Chicago

CHICAGO, Ill. – The Saint Francis men’s volleyball team scratched and clawed, but dropped an excruciatingly close 3-2 decision on Saturday night at Loyola, one night after the Ramblers upset defending national champion and No.1 ranked Penn State.

Krisjanis Berzins paced Loyola with a career-high 30 kills and nine digs to defeat the Red Flash 27-30, 30-27, 30-25, 29-31, 15-12.

Junior Jordan Varee (Conneautville, Pa. / Conneaut Valley) posted a team high 22 kills to go with five blocks, four digs and two service aces. Junior Nick Rivett (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Fox Chapel) added 16 kills, eight digs, three blocks and an ace, junior Pete Freyer (Orchard Park, N.Y. / Orchard Park) had eight kills and seven blocks, junior Patrick McManamon (Huntingdon, Pa. / Huntingdon) hit .667 with four kills, five blocks, four digs and two aces, and senior setter Shane Conley (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Allegheny) dished out 39 assists and had 10 digs, four kills and three blocks.

Loyola held a 10-8 lead early in the first game, but the Red Flash came back to even the score and kept the set closer over the next several plays. With the score tied at 17-17, a Loyola service error gave SFU the lead until a kill by Matt Baleiko knotted the game at 24-24. Mike Bunting followed with a kill of his own and Berzins tacked on a service ace to put the Ramblers ahead, 26-24. The Red Flash followed with a decisive 6-1 run to gain back the advantage and claim the opening set, 30-27.

The second game played similar to the first, with neither team able to build a substantial lead throughout most of the contest. Saint Francis led by as much as four points late in the game at 24-20, but four Red Flash attack errors, a Michael Hutz service ace and kills by Berzins, Nick Lamoureux and George Kamberos keyed Loyola’s 10-3 rally to secure the second set, 30-27.

Points were exchanged back and forth until midway through the third set, when the Ramblers went on an 8-1 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 23-18. The Red Flash came as close as three, 28-25, but two kills by Lamoureux sealed the 30-25 Ramblers victory.

Loyola led for the majority of the fourth set, though Saint Francis never allowed the game to get too far out of reach. The set was tied at 22-22, before a kill by Michael Morice and two attack errors put the Ramblers up by three, 25-22. The Red Flash continued to chip away and outscored Loyola 9-4 down the stretch to force a fifth game with the 31-29 win.

The Ramblers were off to a shaky start in the final set, falling behind 3-1 early, before a kill by Kamberos evened the score shortly after. The lead changed four more times and was tied at 12-12, until a Red Flash service error and two more kills from Kamberos gave Loyola the 15-12 victory and the match.