Nov. 18, 2005
Final Stats
CHICAGO - Freshman Audrey Davis hammered down 16 kills to lead a balanced offensive attack as fourth-seeded Loyola spotted UW-Green Bay a 2-1 lead before roaring back for a 3-2 (30-26, 26-30, 20-30, 30-26, 15-8) win tonight in a Horizon League Championship quarterfinal match at the Flames Athletic Center in Chicago.
"I think we showed the fight of a champion tonight and played Loyola volleyball," said head coach Marcie Bomhack. "I was thrilled with Hilary's (Stromath) performance, especially in games four and five, and Melissa Craig and Jen White gave us a huge lift off the bench. Now that we got the first match out of the way, I hope we can find a flow tomorrow and keep the momentum going against Milwaukee."
Loyola opened the match strong, taking an 8-5 lead on a Phoenix error and an 11-7 edge on a Shelby Henriksen kill. Green Bay was able to stay close but Loyola would not relinquish the lead, reeling off four straight points (including two Sarah Elmer kills) to assume a 23-18 lead. Green Bay closed the margin to one on two occasions but a Courtney Ashley kill and a block by Davis and Hilary Stromath rebuffed its attempts to pull even and kills from Keily Zins and Elmer closed the frame out. Ashley led the way for the Ramblers with six kills as each team hit just .163 in the game.
Game two was tight throughout as the teams were tied on 11 different occasions to get to 19-all. Three straight Rambler errors gave the Phoenix a 22-19 lead, which it extended to five (25-20) on a Sarah Rouen ace. Loyola battled back by scoring the next four points to close within one, but another error and back-to-back service aces put Green Bay up by four and a Jackie Rosen kill sent the match to intermission tied, 1-1.
Green Bay took control of game three with a 7-1 run that turned a 10-7 deficit into a 14-11 lead. A Davis kill momentarily stemmed the tide but the Phoenix continued to push and a Jill Smits kill eventually gave it a 30-20 win and a 2-1 lead in the match. The Ramblers never found a flow in the frame, connecting for just nine kills and hitting .000 (9-9-42) in the set.
Showing the resiliency of a champion, Loyola battled back in game four. Two Stromath kills and an Ashley service ace helped Loyola turn a 7-7 tie into an 11-7 lead. The Phoenix chipped away and finally pulled even at 20 on a Rambler error. The teams alternated points to 25-all before Jennifer White served up consecutive aces to give the Ramblers a three-point lead and a block from Melissa Craig and Elmer sealed the frame, sending the match to a decisive fifth game. Loyola responded with its best hitting game, cranking out 18 kills at a .351 clip to offset a .314 performance by the Phoenix.
Coming off a five-game loss to Cleveland State in its regular season finale, the Ramblers were not to be denied tonight. A bad set allowed the Ramblers to side-out with a 3-2 lead and Ann Deelo served up five more points, the last coming on a solo stuff from Stromath, to give LU a commanding 8-2 lead in the race to 15. Three straight Green Bay kills sliced the lead to 11-7, prompting a Rambler timeout, before a Phoenix ball-handling error and consecutive hitting errors sent Loyola to match-point and Davis did not disappoint, sending the Ramblers to the semifinals with her third kill of the game and 16th of the match.
Loyola pulled out the victory despite seeing Green Bay record 70 kills to LU's 65 for the match. However, the Ramblers enjoyed a decisive 11-5 edge from the service line and a 10-8 advantage in blocks to compensate.
Davis was joined in double figures by Zins (16 digs), Ashley (four aces) and Stromath (five blocks), all of whom contributed 11 kills. Setter Sarah Elmer added eight put-aways to go with 51 assists and 11 digs while Deelo keyed the defense with a season-high 27 digs.
Loyola must recharge its battery quickly as it will take on top-seeded UW-Milwaukee in tomorrow afternoon's first semifinal. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Flames Athletic Center.
