Aug. 31, 2010

Box Score

Bloomington, Ill. - Colleen Francis had a team-high 10 kills but Loyola dug itself sizable holes in the first two sets and failed to hold a late lead in the third set in a 3-0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-23) loss to Illinois State tonight at Redbird Arena. Loyola slips to 1-2 on the young season while the Redbirds maintain their perfect start, improving to 4-0 with the win.

"I thought we played extremely tentative tonight and we just will not be able to win matches playing tentative volleyball," said head coach Marcie Wolbeck. "We had some mental breakdowns and struggled, at times, to pass effectively and that was the story of the match. I was happy with how we came out in the third set but was disappointed not to be able to close it out and keep the match going."

After alternating the first six points of the match, Illinois State took command with a 14-3 run that gave the Redbirds a 17-6 lead. The Ramblers were able to stem the tide and, trailing 23-12, made a late charge. A Diana Schulte kill started a 6-0 LU run that made it a 23-18 game but a key solo block from ISU's Hailey Kelley squelched the rally and the Redbirds were able to lock up the opening set a couple of points later.

Loyola came out flat in the second set and the home team took advantage, racing out to leads of 10-1 and 15-3. A couple of Colleen Francis kills later in the set helped the Ramblers try and rally but Mallory Leggett closed out the 25-13 frame with an ace, sending LU to the locker room in an 0-2 hole.

The third set was tight throughout with the Ramblers opening a 14-11 after a Schulte ace and a Francis kill. Illinois State responded by scoring the next five points to grab a 16-14 lead and Loyola faced an 18-16 deficit before rallying. Two straight Francis kills forged an 18-all tie and Natalie Fiore served up four more points to give the Ramblers a seemingly comfortable 22-18 lead. However, Illinois State would rally, taking a 24-23 lead on a Leggett kill before closing out the match with a Jenny Menendez ace.

Francis narrowly missed her second straight double-double, finishing with 10 points and seven digs. Natalie Pounovich added eight kills while Schulte added a season-high six kills off the bench.

"I thought Diana gave us a real spark off the bench tonight," said Wolbeck. "Natalie (Pounovich) also had a good night but we did not get her the ball enough. In fact, we need to get our middles more involved going forward to be successful."

Loyola returns to action this weekend when it travels to Madison, Wis. for the Inntowner Invitational. The Ramblers open play on Friday night with a 5 p.m. match against Chicago State.