Oct. 3, 2006

Box Score

Peoria, Ill. - Melissa Craig pounded out 17 kills and added a career-high nine blocks and Sarah Elmer racked up her third triple-double of the season as Loyola held off Bradley, 3-2 (24-30, 30-22, 30-21, 23-30, 17-15), in a stirring match tonight at Robertson Fieldhouse in Peoria, Ill. The win pushes the Ramblers to 9-10 on the year while Bradley falls to 3-13.

"This was a great win for us on the road," said head coach Marcie Bomhack. "We got contributions from everyone, with Craig and Elmer in particular, pushing us to the win. Bradley is a big, scrappy team and we had to work for everything tonight. Our blocking was a big strength tonight, which is good to see, and we were able to score when we needed to."

After hitting just .115 in dropping game one, the Ramblers mashed away at a .337 clip over the next two frames to take a 2-1 lead in the match. The hosts rallied to send it to a decisive game five, where on its third match point, Loyola was able to clinch the win, as Courtney Ashley fired one off the block for the winning kill.

Craig led four Ramblers in double figures and was joined by Ashley (15 kills, 19 digs) and Zins (14 kills, 13 digs). Elmer filled up the boxscore for her triple-double, finishing with 12 kills, 50 assists, 13 digs, six blocks and five service aces. Libero Ann Deelo and back-row specialist Jennifer White keyed a strong defensive effort with 25 and 16 digs, respectively.

The win provides the Ramblers with a lift heading into a pair of key Horizon League games this weekend. Loyola will host UW-Milwaukee and UW-Green Bay, starting off the weekend with a 7 p.m. match on Friday night against the Panthers at Alumni Gym.