Sept. 23, 2006
Box Score
CHICAGO - Freshman Dana VanDiggelen had a career-high 17 kills in her first start as Loyola, with a revamped lineup, cruised past Butler, 3-1 (30-25, 30-18, 21-30, 30-22), this afternoon at Alumni Gym. Loyola improves to 7-9 (1-1 Horizon) while Butler drops to 5-10 (0-2).
"I was extremely pleased how we came out today," said head coach Marcie Bomhack. "Dana brings great personality and energy to the floor and had a great match today. Maria (Schmitt) also played well, as we changed our lineup a little bit. It was important for us to win today at home because road wins will be hard to come by, as competitive as our league is this year."
With a lineup that featured three changes from last night, Loyola opened the match strong, scoring five of the first six points. Butler regrouped and the teams were tied on 10 occasions to get to 22-all. Three straight Butler errors and a Shelby Henriksen kill finally helped Loyola turn a 22-21 deficit into a 25-22 lead and back-to-back kills from Henriksen and Sarah Elmer pushed the lead to 28-24 before VanDiggelen closed out the game with a kill.
Loyola took control of game two early, using a 6-1 run to take a 9-4 lead. Loyola's offensive efficiency helped it blow the game open later, as a five-point run on the service of Alyse Serritella gave LU a 21-10 lead and the Ramblers would not be threatened from there, as a Schmitt kill gave the hosts a 2-0 lead heading into intermission.
The Ramblers looked to close out the match in game three, but Butler was able to regroup, outscoring Loyola 17-7 down the stretch to take the frame, 30-21. However, Loyola was up to the task in game four, pulling away late. Leading 23-22, Elmer found a hole to give LU a two-point lead and service. She then toed the service line and served out the final six points, with Melissa Craig contributing a kill and three blocks in the closing spurt, as the Ramblers sealed their first Horizon League win of the year with a 30-22 win in game four.
VanDiggelen slammed her 17 kills at a .412 efficiency (17-3-34) to lead the Ramblers. Henriksen (11 kills) and Schmitt (10) also reached double figures in kills for Loyola. Ann Deelo paced the defense with 18 digs. Michelle DeGeeter had 17 kills to lead Butler.
Loyola takes the week off before its first Horizon League road weekend. The Ramblers travel to Ohio to take on Cleveland State and Youngstown State, opening play on Friday night against the Vikings. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. from Cleveland.
