Oct. 17, 2009

Box Score

Milwaukee, Wis. - Colleen Francis notched her 10th double-double of the season with 12 kills and 15 digs but it was not enough as Loyola dropped a 3-1 (26-24, 26-28, 25-17, 25-20) decision to Milwaukee this afternoon at the Klotsche Center. The Ramblers slide to 10-13 (3-7 Horizon) while the Panthers improve to 7-14 (4-6) with the win.

Loyola rattled off the first three points of the match and two Francis kills later extended the Ramblers lead to five, 12-7. Milwaukee regrouped and pulled even at 14 on a block and the teams essentially traded points to 18-all. Kills from Mallory Curran and Lauren Ditscheit helped LU gain the slightest amount of breathing room with a 20-18 lead but UWM battled back and eventually took a 22-21 lead on a Kerri Schuh kill. Back-to-back Katie Johnson kills gave the Ramblers the first set point at 24-23 but a LU hitting error erased that opportunity and a Panther block and a Mary Beth O'Brien kill helped Milwaukee escape with the opening set.

The Ramblers got off to another good start in the second set, taking an early 7-4 lead on a Curran/Ditscheit block. Milwaukee rattled off the next four points to take the lead and neither team was able to gain any separation throughout the middle stages of the set. Loyola was the first to be able to string some points together, rattling off five straight points, including two Dana VanDiggelen kills, to take a 17-13 lead. After a Natalie Schmitting kill pulled UWM within two, 18-16, the Ramblers rattled off the next five to take a commanding 23-16 lead. A Francis kill later made it 24-19 but UWM was not done and the Panthers managed to score six straight points to earn a set point of their own at 25-24. A Natalie Pounovich kill kept the Ramblers alive and a UWM error gave the Ramblers their sixth crack at the set with a 26-25 lead. Despite being denied, the seventh time proved to be the charm as a Francis ace capped the 28-26 win that evened the match at intermission.

Milwaukee was able to carry over some of that momentum into the third set and a couple LU errors helped the Panthers take a 12-7 lead. Loyola struggled to find its feet and the Ramblers found themselves down 18-9 after a Schuh kill. Two VanDiggelen kills helped LU cut the deficit to 18-12 and a block and kill later from Curran made it a 20-16 game but the Ramblers would get no closer as the Panthers took a 2-1 lead with a 25-17 win.

The fourth set was tight early but two Kellye Zaporski kills helped UWM move out to a 12-7 lead and force the Ramblers to play catch-up. Loyola got within three on a Pounovich kill but UWM was able to slowly extend its lead and a Jena Berg kill put an end to a late LU rally.

Francis' 12 kills were a team high but she hit just .065 (12-9-46) for the match. VanDiggelen was also in double figures, racking up 11 kills to go with 11 digs and five blocks. Curran (nine kills, six blocks) and Pounovich (seven kills, six blocks) were effective in the middle.

Loyola opens up a key three-match homestand next Friday (Oct. 23) with a 7 p.m. match against Youngstown State.