Nov. 4, 2005
Box Score
CHICAGO - Sophomore Shelby Henriksen led a balanced attack with 12 kills as Loyola held off a scrappy Butler team, 3-0 (30-28, 30-20, 34-32), tonight at Alumni Gym. With the win, the Ramblers improve to 8-16 (6-5 Horizon) and stay one-game behind Illinois-Chicago for fourth place while the Bulldogs fall to 10-14 (5-7).
"This was a good win for us tonight and I feel like we are starting to get some momentum, which is what I was hoping we could do with all these home matches at the end of the season," said head coach Marcie Bomhack. "We have been working on some different things in practice this week and it was nice to see them translate into game play."
Loyola opened the match strong, reeling off the first four points to take control. The Ramblers opened the lead to five on three different occasions in the early stages and took command later, using a 6-1 run to turn a 16-11 lead into a 22-12 bulge. Henriksen had three kills to highlight the scoring run. Much as in the first meeting, where Butler was superior at the end of games, the Bulldogs rallied, slowly chipping away at the LU lead. Four straight points cut the margin to 26-22, but a ball-handling error moments later gave Loyola game-point and a 29-25 lead. However, a Susani Henri kill and a pair of Rambler errors made it 29-28 but Henri hit long to give the Ramblers the opener. Henriksen had seven kills and Hilary Stromath added four to lead the Rambler offense.
Game two took on a similar persona, without the exciting finish. A four-point Loyola spurt, highlighted by consecutive kills from Audrey Davis, gave LU some breathing room with a 9-4 edge. A block from Stromath and Sarah Elmer pushed the lead to 16-9 and Elmer served up three straight points to make it a 19-9 advantage. Butler was unable to get closer than seven the rest of the way and an Ashley kill sent the Ramblers to the locker room with a 2-0 lead. Ashley and Davis had five kills apiece in the frame to lead the Ramblers, who outhit the Bulldogs, .293-.022, in the set.
Butler regrouped during the intermission and three straight points gave the visitors a 10-7 lead in the early going. The lead was short-lived as the Ramblers rode the serve of Ann Deelo to five consecutive points and a 12-10 lead. After Butler drew even at 13, back-to-back kills from Elmer keyed a 6-0 run that gave the hosts a seemingly comfortable 19-13 edge. However, the Bulldogs were not done, scoring three straight to stem the tide and get back into the game, eventually pulling even at 26 on a Megan Knightly service ace. A tandem block from Stromath and Ashley sent LU to match point with a 29-27 lead but kills from Michelle DeGeeter and Krystal Hendrix erased both chances. A Stromath kill moments later gave the Ramblers another chance (30-29) but Alicia Coltrane denied them with a kill. Finally, on its fourth match point, Loyola pulled through as kills from Keily Zins and Ashley closed it out.
For the match, Loyola enjoyed a slight 49-44 lead in kills which translated to a .198-.129 edge in hitting percentage.
Henriksen's 12 kills were one short of her career-high while Ashley added support with 11 kills and nine digs. Stromath pitched in with nine kills and four blocks while Davis contributed eight put-aways. Elmer had a match-high 16 digs to go with 36 assists to spearhead the defensive effort. Coltraine and Henri had 13 kills each to lead Butler.
Loyola wraps up weekend play tomorrow when it battles Wright State at Alumni Gym. First serve is slated for 4 p.m.
