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Laura Purcell had a team-high 12 kills in Loyola's conference-opener against Milwaukee

Women's Volleyball

Loyola Drops Horizon League Opener to Milwaukee, 3-0

Sept. 17, 2011

Box Score

Milwaukee, Wis. - Visiting Loyola got 12 kills from Laura Purcell but Milwaukee had three players reach double figures in kills in a 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-21) win over the Ramblers in LU's Horizon League opener this afternoon at the Klotsche Center in Milwaukee, Wis. Loyola drops to 3-7 (0-1) while the Panthers, the defending regular-season Horizon League champs, improve to (9-4, 2-0).

Early kills from Purcell, Libby Bresser and Mary Kate Styler helped Loyola grab an early lead in the opening set and a block from Natalie Pounovich and Styler extended the gap to three, 8-5. Milwaukee quickly rallied to pull even at 10 and UWM opened up a three-point lead moments later (15-12) on a Rachel Neuberger kill. Loyola battled back, moving within a point (17-16) on a Cat Languido ace but Milwaukee had an answer for each Loyola rally, closing out a 25-20 win with a block.

Milwaukee raced out to leads of 3-0 and 8-3 in the early stages of the second set before Loyola responded. Bresser had a kill and an ace as LU sliced the deficit to two (8-6), and the teams battled through the middle stages of the set, with the Ramblers staying within two at 15-13 after another Bresser kill. However, points were hard to come by for Loyola the rest of the way as UWM scored 10 of the last 12 points of the set to take a 2-0 lead heading to intermission.

Loyola was forced to play catch-up again in the third set as Milwaukee took a 6-3 lead on a Neuberger kill. Consecutive blocks from Melissa Hastings helped LU get back within a point but the Panthers were able to keep their poise and slowly extend their lead, taking a 20-15 lead on a Kerri Schuh kill. Loyola managed to hang tough and killed off two match points before a service error gave UWM the match.

Purcell led Loyola with 12 kills with Hastings and Bresser adding eight and seven kills, respectively. Languido led the back row with a match-high 18 digs.

The Ramblers return to action next weekend with a pair of home matches, beginning with a Friday night tilt against UIC.

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