Oct. 28, 2005
Box Score
CHICAGO - Junior setter Sarah Elmer recorded the first triple-double of her career and Audrey Davis and Shelby Henriksen set career-highs in kills as Loyola rallied past Illinois-Chicago, 3-2 (28-30, 33-31, 26-30, 30-24, 16-14), in a scintillating match tonight at Alumni Gym. The win snaps Loyola's three-match losing streak and boosts it back to the .500 mark in the Horizon League (7-16, 5-5 Horizon) while the Flames drop to 10-16 (6-4).
Game five was a roller-coaster, and a Tisha Graf kill gave UIC a 6-3 lead. A Loyola error later made it 7-4 before a Henriksen kill and a UIC error sliced the deficit to 7-6. An Ambria Springer kill gave the Flames an 8-6 lead at the change-over but a Courtney Ashley kill and an ace from Elmer pulled the Ramblers even. A Katarina Nedeljkovic kill was the first of consecutive UIC points as it reclaimed a 10-8 but the Ramblers battled back. Kills from Ashley and Hilary Stromath tied the match and a Flame error gave LU its first lead at 11-10. Stromath came up big with a solo block on the next rally to give the Ramblers a 12-10 lead. UIC wasted no time coming back, knotting the frame at 12, before Davis stemmed the tide with a kill from the right side. Maura McCarthy tied it at 13 and Loyola had the first match point of the night at 14-13 but a service error kept the visitors alive. Keily Zins found a hole to give LU a 15-14 lead and Nedeljkovic hit long on match point to give the Ramblers the win.
The first four games were just as exciting, as the two city rivals engaged in their third match of the season. Loyola enjoyed a 15-12 edge in kills in game one but 13 errors proved to be its undoing. Three straight LU errors gave UIC a 25-20 lead and a Nedeljkovic kill later pushed UIC to game-point at 29-21. However, Loyola did not go quietly, as an ace and four straight UIC errors made it 29-27 and a block from Stromath and Davis on the next point pulled LU a step closer. However, Nedeljkovic ended the comeback with her seventh kill of the frame to give UIC the 1-0 lead.
Game two was another nailbiter, featuring 22 ties and 12 lead changes before the hosts prevailed. Consecutive kills from Elmer gave Loyola a 21-18 lead, the largest for either team, but UIC responded and knotted the game at 23 on a Rambler error. The teams alternated points all the way to 31-all and an Elmer ace gave the Ramblers a game point, which they cashed in when Davis found the floor for the fifth time in the set.
Back-to-back aces from Ashley gave LU a 16-12 lead in game three but Nedeljkovic answered with two aces of her own to help UIC battle back. Consecutive Nedeljkovic kills later tied the game at 23 and she had a hand in five of UIC's last six points (four kills, one ace) as the Flames pulled away for a 30-26 win. Three UIC errors in game four gave LU a 19-14 lead that it would not relinquish. Davis led the way with five kills on seven errorless swings in the frame as the Ramblers hit .343 to force the game five.
For the match, Loyola owned a 76-67 edge in kills, that translated into a .245-.200 margin in hitting efficiency, and a slight 78-76 advantage in digs while UIC enjoyed the better of it in blocks (7-5) and aces (15-11).
Elmer led the way with career-highs in both kills (14) and digs (22) while adding 50 assists. Davis led the way for Loyola with 16 kills (16-4-32, .375) while Ashley (14 kills, 10 digs) and Henriksen (13 kills) also reached double-figures. Ann Deelo spearheaded the defense with a season-best 25 digs. Nedeljkovic had 23 kills, 13 digs and seven aces to lead the Flames.
Loyola returns to the court next weekend, opening play on Friday night against Butler. First serve at Alumni Gym is scheduled for 7 p.m.
