Oct. 8, 2011

Box Score

Indianapolis, Ind. - Loyola got off to a solid start, winning the opening set, before host Butler took over to snatch a 3-1 (23-25, 25-14, 25-11, 25-19) win over the Ramblers this afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

The Ramblers played well at the outset, scoring four of the first five points to grab the early lead. Loyola played from in front for the majority of the opening set and opened a 14-9 lead after a Purcell kill and a Butler setting error. The Bulldogs closed to within a point (18-17) but a Mary Kate Styler kill and a Vicki Wrobel ace helped the Ramblers extend to a 21-17 advantage and, despite seeing Butler stave off four set points, Loyola closed out a 25-23 win courtesy of a Melissa Hastings kill.

Butler responded by jumping out early in the second set, racing out to leads of 5-0 and 8-1 in the early stages. The Bulldogs eventually opened up a 16-5 lead on a LU error and Loyola would get no closer than nine the rest of the way as Butler evened the match with a 25-14 win.

The third set followed a similar form as the home team shot out to a 14-5 advantage. Loyola struggled to string points together as Butler kept pushing, taking a 2-1 lead in the match after a 25-11 third-set victory.

Loyola came out determined in the fourth set as the teams traded points to 7-7. A 6-1 Rambler run, highlighted by a kill and a block from Purcell, helped the visitors take a 14-10 lead and LU still held a 17-14 lead after a Butler error. However, points proved to be hard to come by the rest of the way as the Bulldogs ended the match on an 11-2 spurt, sealing the win with a Belle Obert kill.

Purcell paced the Ramblers with 11 kills and she was joined in double figures by Styler and Hastings, who racked up 10 kills apiece.

Loyola wraps up its weekend road trip tomorrow afternoon Wright State.