Oct. 26, 2007
Final Stats
CHICAGO - Visiting Cleveland State used sizable scoring runs in each of the first two games and used a hot start in game three to snap Loyola's winning streak at three with a 3-0 (30-21, 30-20, 30-23) win over the Ramblers tonight at Alumni Gym. Loyola drops to 7-17 (3-9 Horizon) while the Vikings improve to 18-6 (11-2).
"I give a lot of credit to Cleveland State, I thought they played a superb match tonight," said head coach Marcie Bomhack. "Dana (VanDiggelen) and Mallory (Curran) both played very well for us but we gave up a couple of big scoring runs that put us in a hole that we could not dig out of tonight."
Loyola opened the match strong, racing out to a 5-2 lead on a Keily Zins kill. Kills from Curran and Sarah Singer later extended the lead to 10-5 before Cleveland State began to claw its way back into the game. The Ramblers were able to maintain a small cushion and held a 16-13 lead after a Ceci Mattei kill. However, the Vikings were able to side-out and rattled off the next four points to claim an 18-16 lead. Cleveland State slowly edged away from there, using another four-point run to turn a 23-20 lead into a 27-20 advantage, effectively sealing the game. VanDiggelen led the way for Loyola with five kills on eight errorless swings but it was not enough to overcome a .412 hitting efficiency (16-2-34) by the visitors.
Game two was tight in the early going as well, as the teams were tied seven times en route to 9-9. The Vikings would inch away from there, opening up a 13-9 lead after a block, before kills from Melissa Craig and VanDigglen drew LU within a pair, 15-13, at the midway point. Curran had a pair of kills later to keep Loyola within three but a four-point CSU run ended with Loyola staring at a 23-16 deficit and a Mel Snyder kill closed out a 30-20 win.
The Ramblers endured a rough start to game three, falling behind 7-0, before storming back into the game. A Zins kill got LU on the board and a four-point Rambler run, keyed by two blocks from Colleen Francis, made it an 8-6 game. An ace from Alexis Korovich spurred the Vikings to a 12-7 lead and Loyola still faced a five-point deficit before kills from Curran and VanDiggelen helped the Ramblers get within a point, 18-17. It was still a two-point game after a Zins kill made it 23-21 but CSU was able to reel off three straight points to make it 26-21 and Loyola could not battle back.
Cleveland State was clicking on all cylinders, hitting .357 for the match, compared to a .184 output by the Ramblers.
VanDiggelen finished with a team-best 12 kills (12-2-24, .375) to lead LU while Curran added 10 kills at a .417 clip (10-2-17).
Loyola looks to get back on the winning track tomorrow when it takes on Youngstown State at 4 p.m. on Senior Day at Alumni Gym. Seniors Melissa Craig, Jen White and Keily Zins will be honored in a pregame ceremony.
