Sept. 3, 2005

Box Score

Tuscaloosa, Ala. - Loyola (0-3) squandered five game-points in game three and were plagued by erratic hitting throughout the match in a 3-1 (24-30, 30-25, 37-39, 23-30) setback to Indiana this morning in the final match of the Hampton Inn/Bama Bash in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

The opening game was tight in the early stages, as the teams were tied eight times, the last at 11-11. Indiana reeled off five straight points to turn a 19-18 edge into a 24-18 lead. The Ramblers responded with three consecutive points of their own to close within three (24-21), but they would get no closer as Indiana took the opener, 30-24.

Game two opened in similar fashion, as the teams forged 12 deadlocks to get to 21-21. Consecutive kills from Katie Henry, Audrey Davis and Hilary Stromath gave LU a three-point edge and, after the Hoosiers closed within a single point, it was the senior combo of Stromath and Henry that pushed the advantage back to 26-23. Indiana would not threaten again and Keily Zins sent the teams to intermission with a kill on LU's first game-point.

Game three was a carbon copy of the first two, with the teams alternating points to 7-7. Three IU errors contributed to a run of five straight Rambler points that gave LU a 12-7 lead and play would settle down with Loyola playing from in front throughout the middle portion of the game. The Hoosiers chipped away and finally drew even at 25, setting up a frantic finish. A Stromath kill and an Indiana error made it 27-25 Ramblers before IU came back with two straight to knot things, 27-27. Loyola had its first game point at 29-28 but an error sent the game to extra points, where the Ramblers had four other chances, each of which was snuffed out, before Indiana benefitted from consecutive Loyola errors to reel off the last three points and take the pivotal game.

It appeared as it Loyola would rebound, opening game four strong. The Ramblers opened up leads of 9-5, 13-10 and 15-11 before things turned for the worse. After a sideout gave the Hoosiers the ball down 15-12, Laura Holm proceeded to reel of 13 straight points, giving IU an insurmountable 25-15 lead and, fittingly, it was Holm who closed out the match with a kill.

Loyola was done in by 41 hitting errors, hitting a combined .131 for the match. In its game two win, the Ramblers slugged away at a .341 clip but produced at just an .063 efficiency in its three losses.

Stromath posted a season-high 19 kills while hitting at a .382 clip to lead Loyola. Zins posted her first double-double of the season with 17 kills and 10 digs while Davis, in her first extended action, posted 13 kills. Courtney Ashley had 15 digs to lead the LU defensive effort while Sarah Elmer handed out a career-best 50 assists.

Loyola returns to the court on Tuesday night when it travels to Champaign to battle Illinois. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Huff Hall.