Nov. 16, 2007

Final Stats

Milwaukee, Wis. - On a day in which the first three Horizon League quarterfinal matches were sweeps, eighth-seeded Loyola pushed No. 1 seed Milwaukee to the brink before the host Panthers scored the last six points of the match to escape with a 3-2 (29-31, 30-23, 30-24, 25-30, 15-8) win over the Ramblers tonight at the Klotsche Center in Milwaukee. Loyola's season comes to a close with a 9-21 mark while Milwaukee brings a 26-2 record into tomorrow's semifinals.

"What a great volleyball match," said head coach Marcie Bomhack. "I could not be prouder of a team than I am of our student-athletes tonight. We knew, if we came out and played loose and confidently, that we could compete with them and I was thrilled with that tonight. Unfortunately, we just could not get that crucial side-out down the stretch and I think our team felt that if we could keep scoring with them that we would be able to pull it out at the end."

The tension was palpable as the unfancied Ramblers broke out on top in game five, courtesy of a block from Melissa Craig and Dana VanDiggelen. The two teams, who have dominated Horizon League volleyball for over a decade, traded points to 5-all before UWM used a Leanne Felsing kill and a Loyola error to take a 7-5 lead. A Mallory Curran kill started the see-saw again as the teams exchanged points to 9-8. A Nicole Vilter kill gave Milwaukee the ball and a 10-8 lead and the Ramblers were unable to get that crucial point, with Kellye Zaporski able to serve out the last five points to claim the victory.

Loyola stormed out of the gate in the opening game and showed it was there to compete, racing out to an 8-2 lead on two Craig kills and and a handful of Panther errors. Milwaukee absorbed the blow and managed to eventually pull even at 12 on a Breit Nelson ace. The teams settled in from there with neither team leading by more than two the rest of the way. Two UWM errors pushed the Ramblers to game point at 29-27 but kills from Jamie Gabrielsen and Vilter forged the 15th tie of the game at 29-all. A Sarah Singer kill gave Loyola its third game point and Craig and Keily Zins teamed up for LU's fifth block of the frame to deliver the 31-29, opening-game win.

Game two was also tight through the middle stages, with Loyola drawing even at 15 on a VanDiggelen kill. Three straight UWM points gave the hosts some breathing room but the Ramblers were still within striking distance late, trailing 23-20 after a Panther error. However, Milwaukee used another three-point run to take a 26-20 lead and a Panther block closed out the 30-23 win.

Consecutive kills from Zins, Curran and VanDiggelen gave the Ramblers a 13-11 lead in game three but Milwaukee would seize control shortly thereafter on the serve of Lauren Felsing, rattled off five straight point to turn a 14-12 deficit into a 17-14 lead. The Panthers would gradually extend the lead to 25-18 on a Vilter kill before the Ramblers rallied with three consecutive points of their own to get back within four, 25-21. Unfortunately, Loyola could not sustain the momentum and Milwaukee took a 2-1 lead with a 30-24 win.

With their backs to the wall, Loyola used a late rally to take game four. A four-point run on Singer's serve gave LU a 13-11 lead and another four-point spurt later on Mindy Rees' service held the Ramblers restore a three-point edge at 18-15. Tied at 21, Loyola made its move. A Craig kill inched the visitors into the lead and two Milwaukee errors pushed the lead to three, 24-21. Craig came up with a big solo stuff to make it 25-21 and that would be all the cushion the Ramblers would need, effectively siding-out the rest of the way and sealing the 30-26 win on a Zins kill to set up the game five drama.

Loyola hung close by doubling up Milwaukee at the net, finishing with 20 total blocks to UWM's 10, to help negate a 93-58 deficit in kills. Craig, the Horizon League's leading blocker coming in, did nothing to disappoint, finishing with eight kills and a game-high 12 blocks.

Singer led four Ramblers in double digits offensively with 13 kills and added 18 digs for the double-double. She was joined by VanDiggelen (12 kills, career-high nine blocks), Curran (12 kills, eight blocks) and Zins, who finished with a double-double of 10 kills and 11 digs in her final collegiate match. Alyse Serritella posted a match-high 29 digs from her libero spot.

"While it is a tough way to have your season end, there are so many positives that we can take out of this match. Mallory, Sarah and Dana all played like they had something to prove and Melissa and Keily have nothing to hang their heads about with how they played tonight."