Sept. 10, 2011

Box Score

Iowa City, Iowa - Vicki Wrobel served up five of Loyola's season-high 13 aces as the Ramblers closed out the Iowa Invitational with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-16) sweep of Chicago State. Loyola moves to 3-5 after winning two of three matches this weekend while Chicago State drops to 1-11 on the year.

Loyola opened up a 10-7 lead in the opening set on a Natalie Pounovich kill but the Ramblers were unable to put away the pesky Cougars, who pulled even at 17 on a Loyola error. The teams essentially traded points all the way to 22-all before Loyola was able to close, scoring the final three points on another Pounovich kill, a Libby Bresser ace and a Chicago State error.

The Ramblers jumped out to an early 10-6 lead in the second set and the margin ballooned to five (15-10) after consecutive aces from Cat Languido. A Wrobel ace later made it 18-11 and the Ramblers cruised from there as Mary Kate Styler wrapped up the set with kill.

Four straight points, two coming on Wrobel aces, helped Loyola turn a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 lead early in the third set. A Pounovich kill later made it a 10-7 lead but the lead was still just three (15-12) midway through the set before the Ramblers took command. A Styler kill gave Loyola service and the freshman served up four more points to give LU a commanding 20-12 lead. Emma Headley's first career kill and block on consecutive points helped Loyola move closer to the finish line and a Melissa Hastings kill sealed the 25-16 win.

Pounovich had her best match of the young season, nailing 12 kills at a .733 clip (12-1-15) while controlling the middle. After notching 14 kills in LU's first match today, Styler had another terrific performance, racking up 11 kills. Wrobel added 34 assists and guided the team to a .294 hitting percentage in addition to her five aces.

Loyola returns to action on Tuesday night when it travels to Illinois State for a 7 p.m. match.