Oct. 18, 2008
Final Stats
CHICAGO - Senior Sarah Singer had five of her match-high 16 kills in the decisive fifth set as Loyola rallied past Cleveland State, 3-2 (25-23, 19-25, 16-25, 25-16, 15-9), this afternoon at Alumni Gym. Loyola (15-7, 5-5 Horizon) gets back to the .500 mark in conference play and wraps up a season sweep of the Vikings, who slide to 4-15 (3-7).
"I am so proud of how we kept our confidence and battled back today," said head coach Marcie Wolbeck. "Sarah really put us on her back in the fifth set and gave us a closer today, which is good to see. Hopefully we can use this win to build some momentum for the last month of the season."
Cleveland State used a 6-0 run to jump out to a 12-7 lead in the opening set before Loyola managed to stem the tide. After a Mallory Curran kill made it a 16-13 CSU lead, the teams traded the next 14 points, ending with Loyola staring at a 23-20 deficit. However, the Ramblers showed some moxie, and three straight Singer kills tied it at 23. A Viking error gave the Ramblers a set point, prompting a second CSU timeout, and they took advantage, capping a set-ending 5-0 with a tandem stuff by Curran and Singer. Both teams came out smoking offensively, with CSU actually out-hitting Loyola, .414-.407 in the set.
The second set started in similar fashion, as the teams were tied nine times to get to 10-all. A service error and two non-hitting errors accounted for all three Viking points in a mini-run that gave the visitors a 13-10 lead and kills from Curran and Katie Johnson helped the Ramblers recover and draw even at 14. The Vikings responded by scoring the next four to regain the lead and they were slowly able to pull away, using a block of their own to cap a 25-19 win. Both teams hit over .300 in the set, as offense ruled play, but the Ramblers were done in by six service errors.
Cleveland State took control of the third set early, jumping out to leads of 5-1, 11-3 and 14-4 en route to a 25-16 win, while Loyola turned the tables in the fourth set. Behind the strong serve of Singer, the Ramblers jumped out to a 9-1 lead in the must-have fourth set before CSU battled back. The Vikings got as close as two (13-11) before the Ramblers re-established control, using a key 5-0 spurt to even the match at two sets apiece.
Loyola was first to gain some breathing room in the fifth set, as a service error, a Johnson kill and a Viking error gave the Ramblers a 7-4 edge. A Singer kill helped LU side-out with a 9-6 lead and she teamed with Colleen Francis for a key block at the net to make it a 10-6 game. Consecutive Jordan Goad aces got the Vikings within a pair (11-9) but Singer came up with three straight kills before Lauren Ditscheit finished it off with an ace.
Both teams were very effective offensively, with Loyola slugging at a .328 clip compared to a respectable .258 effort from Cleveland State.
Singer led the way with 16 kills and seven digs, with Johnson just missing a double-double with 13 kills and nine digs. VanDiggelen (nine kills, eight digs, four blocks), Francis (eight kills, five blocks) and Curran (seven kills, .462 efficiency, seven blocks) all pitched in as well while Ditscheit and Mindy Rees combined for six kills and 44 assists at the setter position.
Alyse Serritella had a match-high 18 digs to lead the LU defense, which enjoyed a 47-39 advantage in digs and a 12-8 edge in blocks.
The Ramblers continue their homestand next Saturday with a 7 p.m. match against UIC at Alumni Gym.
