Sept. 1, 2009
Box Score
CHICAGO - Loyola raced out to a 2-1 lead but visiting Illinois State charged back to steal a 3-2 win (25-20, 22-25, 22-25, 25-20, 15-10) over the Ramblers tonight at the Gentile Center. Junior Colleen Francis posted career-highs of 16 kills and 16 digs to lead Loyola, which falls to 1-3 on the year. The Redbirds improve to 3-1 with the win.
The opening set was tight throughout before ISU built a 14-11 lead on a Katie Culbertson kill. The Redbirds extended the lead to 19-14 after two straight LU errors before the Ramblers made a comeback. An Alyse Serritella ace and an ISU error drew the Ramblers within two but that would be as close as they would get as a service error on set point handed the Redbirds a 25-20 opening set win.
Loyola jumped on its visitors early in set two, racing out to a 6-1 lead. A Francis kill and ISU error extended the lead to seven, 11-4, and a Dana VanDiggelen put-away made it a 15-7 advantage. A pair of Jenny Menendez service aces helped ISU draw within five but two straight LU points later restored a seemingly comfortable 23-17 Rambler lead. A pair of Mallory Leggett aces fueled one last Illinois State comeback and the Ramblers saw their lead sliced to two before a service error took them to set point and another misfire from the service line sealed a 25-22 LU win that evened the match.
The third set mirrored the opening frame with neither team able to distance itself. Four straight ISU points gave the Redbirds a 12-10 lead but a pair of Francis kills helped Loyola regain the lead, 14-13. The Ramblers trailed 18-16 when they made their move, reeling off four straight points to take a two-point lead. Two ISU hitting errors and another key service error down the stretch helped bring the Ramblers to set point, where Francis came through again to give them a 2-1 lead in the match.
Two Illinois State errors and a block from Francis and Natalie Pounovich pushed Loyola to a 15-12 lead in the fourth set but the Redbirds responded by scoring nine of the next 10 points to snatch a 21-16 lead and, despite three kills from Francis, Loyola could not recover as the match moved to the decisive fifth set.
The Ramblers were 6-3 in five-set matches last year and scored the first two points of the fifth set tonight. Illinois State responded by scoring next four to take the lead but LU hung tough, pulling even at 6 on a Diana Schulte kill. However, the Ramblers' inability to put the ball away hurt them as ISU scored the next four to take a commanding 10-6 lead and the Redbirds cruised from there.
Francis' 16 kills and 16 digs were the highlight for Loyola, which got a season-best 14 kills from Katie Johnson and 19 digs from Serritella. Leggett had a match-high 18 kills to lead Illinois State.
Loyola returns to action this weekend, taking part in the DePaul Challenge down the road in Lincoln Park. The Ramblers open tournament play on Friday night against Clemson at 5 p.m.
