UCLA vs. Loyola-Chicago, Wed at Pauley Pavilion

[Mac]

UCLA Hosts Loyola Chicago on Wednesday

March 6, 2007

The fifth-ranked UCLA men's volleyball team hosts No. 11 Loyola University Chicago on Wed., Mar. 7 in Pauley Pavilion.

First serve is set for 7 p.m.

Darren Preston will call the action live for both matches on www.uclabruins.com.

Loyola Chicago enters Wednesday' match with a 14-3 overall record and a nine-match winning streak. Featuring the nation's fifth-ranked hitting percentage at .340, LUC boasts four players ranked among the nation's offensive leaders this week. Senior MB James Grunst ranked second in hitting percentage at .562, junior opposite Ian Anderson ranked sixth at 4.95 kpg, sophomore MB Nick Lamoureux ranked 15th with .377 aces per game and senior setter Brian Guntli ranked ninth at 12.92 assists per game.

The Bruins lead this series, 2-0, and defeated the Ramblers 3-2 last season on the same date.
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OK, so let's hear it from the Mid-westerners. What's the skinny on Loyola?

[volleyfred]

A lot of posts about the match between CSUN and Loyola regarding suspect refing at Loyola. Loyola is a good team, but without the home court advantage?...

[volleyfred]

How will they do at the great Pauley Pavilion?

[Deleted]

Apparently, not as close as last year's 5 gamer.

[Mac]

It was a dissapointing show by LUC. Thought they'd bring more. Must have been an off night for them, but it was a fairly lackluster effort, frankly. The Bruins played pretty well and served very well to keep LUC from getting into any rythm.


Bruins Sweep Ramblers at Pauley
Three players record double-digit kills.

March 7, 2007

Box Score: uclabruins.cstv.com/sports/m-volley/stats/2006-2007/luc-1.html

Fifth-ranked UCLA handed No. 11 Loyola Chicago its fourth loss of the season in a convincing non-conference sweep at Pauley Pavilion Wednesday night.

The Bruins won 30-26, 30-23, 30-22 in 79 minutes before 376 spectators. The victory raised the Bruins' overall record to 12-8. The Ramblers fell to 14-4.

UCLA found its serve on this night and the accuracy enabled the Bruins to dispatch LUC quite easily. The Bruins served seven aces against 14 errors, while their opponents committed 13 errors from the service line without an ace. UCLA's pinpoint serving allowed it to limit one of the nation's top offenses, holding LUC to an attack percentage of .288, more than 50 percentage points below its average. The Bruins hit .376, the fourth time in the last five matches they have hit better than .350.

The Bruins also won the battle at the net, out-blocking the Ramblers 7.5-4.0.

Individually, senior Steve Klosterman continued his hot hitting, slamming a match-high 17 kills (.325) with four block assists for 19.0 points. Senior Paul George added 11 kills (.474) and sophomore Jamie Diefenbach added 10 (.571) and a career-high of three aces, including two straight in the second game. Freshman setter Kevin Ker made his sixth consecutive start and scored 7.0 points, a career-high. His brother Tony dug 15 balls to record his 37th career double-digit dig match.

Junior Ian Anderson, one of the nation's top kill leaders, led the Ramblers with 12 kills, but was held to an attack percentage of .226.

The Bruins return to MPSF action on Fri., Mar. 9 on the road against No.2 UC Irvine. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Bren Center. Next week, the Bruins return to Pauley Pavilion for a two-match, non-conference series with Ball State on Mar. 14 and 16.