Sept. 4, 2010
Box Score
Madison, Wis. - Sophomore Diana Schulte drilled a career-high 19 kills and junior Melissa Hastings pitched in with a career-best 14 kills as Loyola recovered from a slow start to knock off Duquesne 3-1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-14) this morning at the Inntowner Invitational in Madison, Wis. The Ramblers improve to 3-2 with the win and send the Dukes to 4-2 with the loss.
"We really came together and rallied as a team after getting off to such a slow start," said head coach Marcie Wolbeck. "Even though we were down big in the opening set, I thought the run that we went on towards the end of that set really gave us some confidence and helped us get into a rhythm that we were able to maintain for the rest of the match."
That run came at the end of an opening set that Duquesne controlled from the outset, scoring the first seven points of the match and never letting Loyola get back into the game. Loyola trailed 24-13 before a couple of Mallory Curran kills sparked a four-point Rambler run that upped their confidence heading into the second set.
A pair of Hastings kills helped Loyola to a 5-1 lead in the second set and it would not trail the rest of the way. Duquesne was able to pull even on two different occasions early but Loyola had the answer each time, opening up a 15-10 lead on a Curran kill and keeping the Dukes at bay to even the match at a set apiece.
Schulte had three kills in the early moments of the pivotal third set as Loyola raced out to a 14-9 lead. Duquense responded with the next three points to get within a pair (14-12) but Schulte helped the Ramblers regroup and stretch the margin back out to five (19-14) as the set moved into the latter stages. An Ashley Buse kill drew DU within three at 19-16 but kills from Colleen Francis, Candice Carajohn and Hastings helped thwart Duquesne's comeback as the Ramblers sealed a 25-19 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Poised to close out the match, Loyola came out strong in the fourth set as two Hastings kills helped turn a 4-3 lead into an 8-4 bulge. Duquense managed to stem the tide and closed to 11-9 on a Liz Homan kill before Loyola effectively eliminated the drama. A block from Hastings and Carajohn started an 8-0 spurt on the serve of Cat Languido and gave the Ramblers a commanding 18-9 lead. The teams would, essentially, alternate points until a Natalie Fiore ace finished off a solid comeback for Loyola.
After hitting just .038 in the opening set, Loyola's offense shifted into gear, hitting .345 over the last three frames to finish at .248 for the match. The Ramblers also enjoyed an 82-64 edge in digs and an 11-5 edge at the net in blocks.
Schulte was terrific, hammering down her 19 kills at a .472 efficiency (19-2-36) to lead the way. Hastings added a little bit of everything, finishing with 14 kills (14-2-35, .343), nine digs, four assists and three blocks. Curran also finished in double figures, posting 10 kills and a season-high six blocks in the middle.
Fiore handed out a career-best 51 assists and added 12 digs for her first career double-double and Languido also set a new career high, digging 31 balls to lead the Rambler back row.
Loyola wraps up tournament play tonight with a 7 p.m. battle against Wisconsin.
