Oct. 21, 2006

Box Score

Dayton, Ohio - For the second straight match, Loyola had more kills and digs than its opponent and for the second straight match it proved to be irrelevant, as the Ramblers dropped a 3-1 (22-30, 30-28, 30-24, 30-23) decision at Wright State this afternoon. Loyola stumbles to 11-13 (4-5 Horizon) with the loss while Wright State improves to 12-12 (6-3).

Loyola came out flying in game one, reeling off four straight points to take an early 8-3 lead. After Wright State closed the gap to one (11-10), the Ramblers rattled of 12 of the next 14 points to take an insurmountable 23-12 lead. Shelby Henriksen and Keily Zins each had two kills in the run, that was highlighted by back-to-back solo stuffs from Dana VanDiggelen. Wright State would get no closer than six points the rest of the way as Henriksen put the finishing touches on a 30-22 win with another kill.

Game two was tight throughout and, after falling behind 11-7, Loyola rallied to take a 14-13 lead on a Jennifer White service ace. Wright State quickly answered and took a 20-15 lead on a Lindsay Frank kill but the Ramblers would not quit and pulled even at 28 on a Sarah Elmer kill. However, the Raiders took the final two points, and the game, on a Frank kill and a Loyola error to even the match heading into intermission.

The teams were tied seven times en route to a 10-all deadlock in the pivotal third game before the Raiders were able to ease out to a 16-11 lead. A VanDiggelen kill pulled the Ramblers within 18-14 but that would be as close as they would get as Wright State claimed a 30-24 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Game four was all Wright State, as the hosts used a 10-2 run to turn a 5-4 lead into a sizeable 15-6 lead. Two Courtney Ashley kills helped the Ramblers get as close as seven and it would get no closer until a late spurt pulled them within 29-23 before Alisha Kimbro ended the match with her eighth kill.

After enjoying an 82-62 edge in kills last night at Butler, the Ramblers held a 65-56 edge in that stat this afternoon. However, the Raider block proved to be a major factor, as the hosts enjoyed a 15-5 advantage at the net.

Ashley added 12 digs to her 14 kills for the double-double while VanDiggelen hit an efficient .357 (14-4-28) on the afternoon. Henriksen added her first career double-double, finishing with 11 kills and a career-high 12 digs. Elmer narrowly missed a triple-double, totaling eight kills, 45 assists and 15 digs while Ann Deelo dug a team-high 19 balls to key the back row effort.

Loyola returns home next weekend and returns to the court on Friday night (Oct. 27) against Cleveland State. First serve from Alumni Gym is set for 7 p.m.