Oct. 21, 2011

Box Score

Valparaiso, Ind. - Host Valparaiso hit a sizzling .394 for the match as Loyola dropped a 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-14) decision to the Crusaders tonight at the Athletics-Recreation Center in Valparaiso, Ind. Loyola drops to 4-15 (1-9 Horizon) with the loss while Valpo moves to 16-8 (7-4) with the win.

Valpo used a 6-1 run to take control of the opening set, turning a 4-3 lead into a 10-4 advantage. Two Laura Purcell kills helped the Ramblers hang around but a five-point VU run later but it out of reach as the Crusaders closed out a 25-14 win with a Loyola error.

Three Rambler errors helped Valpo move out to an early 7-1 lead in the second set. A Melissa Hastings kill and a Cat Languido ace helped Loyola try and get back into the frame and the Ramblers drew within four (10-6) on a Vicki Wrobel kill. A block later from Wrobel and Natalie Pounovich made it a 12-9 game but Valpo responded with the next four points to edge out to a 16-9 lead and the Crusaders cruised from there, closing out a 25-16 win with an Amy Groesbeck kill.

Mary Kate Styler pounded out two kills early in the third set as the teams went back and forth. Two Ellen Vanden Berg kills highlighted a 5-0 VU scoring run that put the Ramblers in a 10-4 hole, forcing LU to play catch-up. Loyola hung around, pulling within 13-8 after kills from Styler and Wrobel, but the home team was too much, rattling off seven of the next nine points to take a commanding 20-10 lead before a Mary Dent kill closed out the match.

Styler led the Ramblers, who hit just .050 as a team, with nine kills while Hastings added eight more. Languido led the LU back row with a match-high 13 digs.

Loyola wraps up weekend play tomorrow afternoon when it makes the short trip to UIC.