Sept. 11, 2010

Box Score

Evansville, Ind. - Colleen Francis capped off a terrific weekend by drilling a match-high 18 kills to lead Loyola to a 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-21) sweep of Western Carolina at the Aces Dunn Hospitality Classic in Evansville, Ind. The Ramblers won two of three matches at the the tournament and improve to 5-4 overall. Western Carolina slips to 3-7 with the loss.

"It was a nice way to end the weekend, getting a three-set sweep," said head coach Marcie Wolbeck. "With the quick turnaround time from the morning match, I was happy that we were able to refocus and do what we had to do to win."

Kills from Francis, Melissa Hastings and Candice Carajohn highlighted an early 6-0 run that got the Ramblers off and running with a 7-3 lead in the opening set. The Catamounts began to chip away and eventually pulled even at 12 after a Rebecca Stoltz ace. Loyola led by as many as three as the set progressed but was unable to put away the pesky WCU squad, who forged a 20-20 tie on a Loyola error. However, the Ramblers were able to regroup and finish strong, as Mallory Curran hammered down two kills in a set-ending 5-0 LU spurt that secured a 25-20 win.

The second set followed the same blueprint, with Loyola playing with the lead but unable to truly distance itself. A Francis kill gave LU a 15-13 lead and a Melissa Hastings kill later stretched the margin to three, 19-16. Consecutive errors helped WCU get within one (20-19) but the Ramblers, again, were strong at the finish, using kills from Hastings and Karen Sueppel to wrap up a 25-19 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The opening stages of the third set were also highly competitive and two Francis kills helped LU open up a 14-12 lead midway through the frame. Western Carolina was able to stem the tide and the teams battled back and forth through five more ties and two lead changes before Loyola assumed control. Kills from Curran and Francis followed a WCU error that helped the Ramblers turn a 19-18 deficit into a 21-19 lead. A Paloma Alvarez kill pulled the Catamounts within one but Loyola used its experience to close it out, getting kills from Curran and Francis to help send it to match point, where freshman Natalie Fiore was able to close it out.

Francis was terrific, belting 18 kills against just three errors (18-3-31, .484) to lead the offensive attack. She was joined in double figures by sophomore Karen Sueppel, who supplied a career-best 10 kills in support. After digging 29 balls in three sets this morning, libero Cat Languido racked up 20 more digs to lead the defense.

"Colleen and Mallory really had fantastic tournaments and it was good to see them play well again to close it out," continued Wolbeck. "I am not quite sure we are exactly where we need to be heading into Horizon League play but we have this week to continue that preparation and I know that we will get there."

Loyola returns home and opens the home portion of its 2010 schedule on Tuesday night when it takes on Indiana State at 7 p.m. at Alumni Gym.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
- Mallory Curran, Loyola
- Colleen Francis, Loyola
- Brooke Maher, Evansville
- Carrie Minogue, Western Carolina
- Ellen Sawin, Evansville
- Logan Su, Murray State
- Emily Wandersee, Evansville