galena rambler wrote:
The 3-0 win over Ohio State Saturday was a big one. Coach Davis went with a very tall lineup inserting Ricky Gevis in with Nick Olson and Jeff Jendryk. I wonder if this will be the lineup he uses when the MIVA playoffs begin this week?
I noticed that lineup did a lot better on the service game, only nine service errors vs. 11 aces, which is a fantastic ratio. That is such a huge and undervalued part of the game, and something that hurt Loyola in the two losses to Lewis (a combined 35 service errors and 8 aces, against Lewis' 30 errors with 11 aces). With rally scoring, every service error is a gift-wrapped point-- IMO every bit as valuable to points and momentum as a dramatic tomahawk kill. Loyola actually outhit Lewis in the home loss, where the service disparity was a more significant factor in giving Lewis the win in four sets.
Compared to last season, Loyola's aces per set are down from 1.72 to 1.57. That's the flashy stat that gets all the attention. But more important and less acknowledged, errors are up from 3.58 to 4.24 per set. Taken together, that's a major falloff in the service game. If the lineup used against Ohio State can shore up that gap, there's a good chance to make a run in the MIVA tournament and Palo Alto.