Sept. 26, 2008
Box Score
CHICAGO - Sarah Singer led four Loyola players in double figures with 16 kills and the Ramblers squandered a 2-0 lead before rallying past UIC in the decisive fifth set in their 3-2 (25-14, 25-18, 15-25, 20-25, 17-15) victory over the Flames tonight at the Flames Athletic Center. Loyola moves to 11-3 (2-1 Horizon) with the win while sending UIC to 5-8 (1-2).
"What an exciting match," said head coach Marcie Wolbeck. "We came out so hot in the first two sets and it is hard to maintain that level for an entire match. UIC got back into the match by doing some good things in the third set and we struggled a little bit to get the momentum back but we hung in there and were able to pull it out at the end. I am so proud of how we competed and battled and, with the way the Horizon League is this year with as much parity as it has, it is great to be able to come away with a road win."
After seeing the Flames get back into the match by capturing the third and fourth sets, Loyola fell behind 6-3 in the fifth set after an ace and an Epiphany Davis kill. A pair of Katie Johnson kills and a stuff by Mallory Curran evened things at six but LU struggled to get over the hump. After a Singer kill tied it at 10-all, UIC scored two straight to retake the lead and a Lana Lobdell kill gave the Flames two match points with a 14-12 lead. A Curran kill erased the first opportunity and a Flames error gave Loyola new life at 14-14. A Katerina Hanackova kill gave UIC a third opportunity but a service error gave the Ramblers the ball and a Curran kill gave LU its first lead of the set (16-15). It was the only opening the Ramblers would need and Curran teamed with Mindy Rees for a block to wrap up the win.
Loyola came out of the gates smoking, rattling off five straight points on four UIC errors and a Colleen Francis ace to turn an early 4-2 deficit into a 7-4 lead. A Singer kill extended the lead to six (13-7) and the Ramblers used a 9-1 run later to put the set out of reach. VanDiggelen had a pair of kills in the run, which was capped by two more aces from Francis, and Curran closed out the 25-14 win with a put-away.
The second set was tight through the middle stages, as the teams were tied 13 different times to get to 15-15. A pair of Singer kills gave LU some breathing room and, after a service error, it was Singer again with consecutive kills as the Ramblers opened up a 21-16 lead. It proved to be more than enough as kills from Singer, Johnson and Dana VanDiggelen sealed a 25-18 win and a 2-0 lead in the match. Loyola's offense was firing on all cylinders in the set as the Ramblers mashed at a .405 clip (19-4-37) in the frame.
The intermission seemed to slow LU's momentum, as 12 hitting errors in set three helped the Flames pull one back. A 4-0 UIC run in the fourth set gave the Flames a 10-8 lead but Loyola pulled even at 12 on a VanDiggelen kill. Two more Rambler errors were key factors in a five-point Flames spurt later that gave the hosts an 18-13 lead and Loyola would get no closer than three points the rest of the way.
Singer added 10 digs to her 16 kills for a double-double, leading a balanced Loyola attack. VanDiggelen also recorded a double-double (13 kills, 15 digs) while Johnson (13 kills, five blocks), Curran (11 kills, five blocks) and Francis (seven kills, career-high 10 digs, six blocks, three aces) also played vital roles in the win. Not to be outdone, Alyse Serritella had a match-high 26 digs to lead the back row and the setting tandem of Rees (28 assists) and Ditscheit (23 assists) was again effective.
Loyola has the rest of the weekend off and returns to action on Tuesday night, taking on SIU-Edwardsville in their first match of the season in Alumni Gym. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
