Sept. 12, 2006
Box Score
Kalamazoo, Mich. - Host Western Michigan jumped on Loyola from the opening serve en route to a 3-0 (30-22, 30-20, 30-18) win over the Ramblers tonight in Kalamazoo, Mich. The victorious Broncos improve to 8-3 on the year while the Ramblers, who were coming off an early-morning Sunday match and return trip from Texas that night, drop to 4-7.
"Western Michigan was a better team than we were tonight," said head coach Marcie Bomhack. "They ran a fast offense and put us back on our heels and we could not do enough to slow them down."
Loyola was lethargic coming out of the gates, falling behind 5-0 and 10-1 . An Audrey Davis kill helped slow the host's momentum and LU slowly began to creep back into the game. Three kills from Shelby Henriksen drew the Ramblers within three, 12-9, and Keily Zins found a hole on the next point to cut the deficit to 12-10. However, as would be the theme of the frame, a service error stymied the momentum and a pair of LU hitting errors helped Western extend the lead to 16-10. Consecutive blocks from Zins and Melissa Craig made it 16-13, but another service error gave the ball back to the Broncos. Later, kills from Courtney Ashley and Henriksen, sandwiched around a WMU error, pulled the Ramblers within three, 22-19, before another miscue at the service line quashed the momentum. That would be as close as Loyola would get the rest of the way, as Western Michigan closed out the opening game, 30-22.
Western turned a 3-all tie in the early stages of game two into a 6-3 edge and a five-point run on the serve of Katie Eberling later pushed the lead to seven points, 12-5. Still trailing by six moments later, the Ramblers made a charge. A Davis kill got LU the side-out it needed and Ann Deelo served up four straight points to close the margin to a single point, 19-18. The Broncos slowly extended the margin to 23-20 before Lindsey West closed it out from the service line, capping the run with an ace on game-point, for a 2-0 lead in the match.
Game three had the same traits of game one, as Loyola fell behind 7-1 out of the gate. Consecutive blocks at the net helped LU get its footing, but Western reeled off the next four points to open up a 12-3 lead. Kills from Ashley and Kathryn Langheld helped the Ramblers close within 12-7, but they could not find consistent offense to make a dent in the margin.
Ashley added 15 digs to go with her seven kills while Henriksen contributed three blocks in addition to her put-aways. Deelo added a match-high 17 digs to pace the defense.
Loyola returns to the comforts of home this weekend, when it hosts the Loyola Invitational at the Gentile Center. The Ramblers open tournament play on Friday night against Oakland (7:30 p.m.). Jacksonville State and Saint Louis round out the tournament field.
