Oct. 28, 2006
CHICAGO - Despite being out-hit .238 to .120 by Loyola on Saturday afternoon, Cleveland State nearly pulled out a win over the Ramblers, before finally falling 21-30, 30-23, 23-30, 31-29, 15-13. With the loss, CSU (16-7) is now in a fourth-place tie with Loyola (13-13) as both teams stand at 6-5 in the Horizon League.
The Ramblers also held a 16 to 6 advantage in blocks, but the Vikings led in aces (10 to 5), kills (70 to 67) and digs (79 to 78).
"I thought Loyola really out-played us tonight, but somehow we found a way to battle and stay in the match," CSU head coach Chuck Voss said. "We even put ourselves in a position to win in the fifth game, but just couldn't close out the match. Hopefully we can learn from this experience."
Freshman Liz Fazio led all players with 23 kills, while senior Danielle Siefker and freshman Beth Greulich added 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Junior Mel Snyder tallied her fourth double-double of the season with 55 assists and 11 digs and sophomore Jordan Bateman tied for match honors with 22 digs.
Keily Zins led the Ramblers with 17 kills and 22 digs and Courtney Ashley also finished with a double-double (11K, D10), while Dana Vandiggelen notched 16 kills and five blocks.
Loyola dominated play in the opening game, recording 20 digs and four blocks en route to holding the Vikings to a .000 hitting percentage. CSU turned the tables in the second frame, hitting .341 as Fazio, Greulich and Siefker each tallied five kills.
In game three, the Vikings jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, but the Ramblers quickly knotted the score at, 4-4, and never looked back. CSU led 20-15 in the fourth game, only to watch as Loyola battled back to tie the score at 22-22. The Ramblers tied the score again at 27-27 and 29-29, but a Fazio kill and a block by Siefker and Snyder forced the deciding fifth game.
In the final frame, neither team led by more than a point until Fazio blocked a ball and followed up with a kill to put the Vikings up 11-9. However, Loyola forced a timeout by claiming three of the next four points to knot the score at 12-12. After the teams traded kills, the Ramblers closed out the match with a kill and a block.
Cleveland State returns home to host a pair of matches next weekend. The Vikings will face Wright State on Friday (Nov. 3) at 7:00 p.m. followed by a 4:00 p.m. Alumni Day affair with Butler the next afternoon.
