Sept. 16, 2005
Box Score
CHICAGO - Home court proved to be the remedy for Loyola's early-season struggles, as the Ramblers (1-7) breezed past Manhattan (2-5), 3-0 (30-19, 30-21, 30-27), tonight in the first match of the Loyola Invitational at the Gentile Center. The win was the first for first-year Rambler head coach Marcie Bomhack.
"I am very happy for the young ladies to get a win under their belt," said Bomhack. "They practiced very hard and very well this week and carried it over to the match. I think this will help us build some momentum and gain confidence as we continue to prepare for the conference season."
Loyola broke away midway through game one on the service of Courtney Ashley. The junior libero reeled off seven consecutive points, three on kills from Maria Schmitt, to take a commanding 22-11 lead. Leading 24-15, Schmitt toed the service line and served up three straight points to take the Ramblers to the brink and Keily Zins found the floor on game point to give Loyola a 30-19 win. The opening-game victory marked the first time in eight matches this season that LU had taken game one.
Three straight points early in game two pushed the Ramblers into the lead and, for the second consecutive game, showed the killer instinct that they had been searching for. Two Hilary Stromath kills and a service ace from Ann Deelo pushed the lead to 22-17 and a pair of Jasper attack errors and two Zins kills extended the advantage to 27-18 before a Manhattan hitting error gave the Ramblers a 2-0 lead heading into intermission.
Some sloppy hitting in the early stages of game three, caused in part by a re-energized Manhattan block, helped the visitors open a 14-9 lead. A Katie Henry kill helped Loyola stem the tide and it slowly began to chip away at the deficit. Kills from Stromath and Zins helped pull LU within 19-16 and a Sarah Elmer kills sliced the lead to 21-19. The Jaspers maintained their slim advantage until Stromath and Audrey Davis combined for a crucial block to knot the game at 26. A Rambler error put Manhattan back on top but the visitors would not score again, as a service error gave Loyola the ball back and Zins immediately gave Loyola the lead with a service ace. Following a Manhattan timeout, a double-hit on the Jasper setter set up match point and a hitting error on the ensuing play gave the Ramblers the win.
Melissa Craig and Stromath played well in the middle, leading the Loyola attack with 10 and nine kills, respectively. Stromath added a team-best six blocks (two solo, four block assists) while hitting .421 (9-1-19) for the match. Davis added eight kills while Deelo (16 digs) and Ashley (15 digs) spearheaded the defensive effort.
