Sept. 11, 2010
Box Score
Evansville, Ind. - Colleen Francis had a team-high 12 kills but Evansville was able to win the key points and earn a 3-0 (30-28, 25-21, 25-22) win over the Ramblers this afternoon at the Aces Dunn Hospitality Classic in Evansville, Ind. Loyola drops back to .500 at 4-4 while Evansville continues its solid start, improving to 8-1 with the win.
The first set was incredibly close throughout, featuring 16 ties and nine lead changes. Evansville opened up a three-point lead (19-16) before a Diana Schulte kill and two Evansville errors drew the Ramblers even at 19 apiece. A Melissa Hastings ace later gave LU a late 23-22 lead but Evansville scored the next two points on a service error and an Ellen Sawin kill to get the first chance at the opening set. After staving off two UE set points, Loyola had two chances of its own at 27-26 and 28-27 only to be stymied both times. A block from Emily Wandersee and Rachel TenHoor gave the Purple Aces a third chance and they were able to take advantage, earning a 30-28 win on a Brooke Maher kill.
Evansville jumped out to an early 11-7 lead in the second set, forcing Loyola to play from behind. A Mallory Curran kill and two UE errors helped the Ramblers get within two (14-12) in the middle stages but the Aces were able to string some points together, ripping off six of the next seven to take a commanding 20-13 lead. The hosts still held a 23-17 lead before Loyola made a late push, using a Hastings kill and two errors to pull within 23-20. However, the Ramblers would get no closer with Maher closing out a 25-21 UE win to give the Aces a 2-0 lead in the match.
Loyola fell behind again early in the third set (4-1), only to score six of the next eight points - three on Francis kills - to grab its first lead (7-6). After being tied for the seventh time, at 15-all, Evansville began to slowly take control, grabbing a 19-16 lead on a Maher kill. Loyola was able to get within two on several occasions down the stretch but could not get over the hump, with Maher closing out the match with her 15th kill.
The teams were nearly identical statistically, with Evansville holding slight edges in kills (49-45) and errors (15-17).
Francis notched her second double-double in as many matches this weekend, finishing with 12 kills and 13 digs, while Curran added nine kills (9-2-20, .350) in support. Cat Languido had a nice match anchoring LU's back row, racking up 29 digs.
Loyola has very little time to reflect on the loss, wrapping up tournament play against Western Carolina at 3 p.m.
