Sept. 4, 2011
Box Score
CHICAGO - Loyola (1-4) had four hitters reach double figures in kills and the Ramblers hit .455 (7-2-11) in the decisive fifth set to record a 3-2 (25-23, 17-25, 25-18, 21-25, 15-8) win over Montana State (0-7) tonight in their home opener at the Halas Sports Center. The victory is the first career win for Loyola's first-year head coach Chris Muscat.
Outside of the comforts of Alumni Gym for the first time, Loyola got off to a sluggish start and found itself down 12-6 in the opening set after a Shayne Kybartas service ace. The Ramblers pulled within four (15-11) on a Libby Bresser block but the Bobcats regrouped to open up an 18-11 lead on an Alex Penewell ace. Loyola buckled down and ripped off the next four points, the last a Vicki Wrobel ace, to get back in the set, 18-15. After MSU was able to side-out, Loyola scored the next three points to get within one, 19-18, on a Bresser kill. Trailing 21-19, the Ramblers used a service error and a Bobcat hitting error to pull even at 21 and, after trading points to 22-all, used consecutive Mary Kate Styler kills to earn a set point at 24-22. A service error wiped away the first opportunity but another Styler kill capped the comeback and gave LU a 25-23 win.
The visitors used three straight Lauren Curtis kills to snatch an early 4-0 lead in the second set but Melissa Hastings single-handedly got the Ramblers back in it, notching a kill before firing four straight aces to forge a 7-7 tie. However, Montana State responded by scoring the next three points to regain the lead and the Bobcats were able to slowly increase the lead, using a Sarah Horton kill to close out a 25-17 win that evened the match at intermission.
Loyola got off to a hot start in the pivotal third set, using two kills each from Bresser and Natalie Pounovich to race out to a 10-3 lead. The lead ballooned to nine (16-7) later on another Pounovich kill and the margin was still nine (19-10) after a Bresser block. Montana State scored three straight points to get within six but Laura Purcell slammed a pair of kills down the stretch as the Ramblers took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-18 win.
The fourth set was tight throughout as the teams were tied nine different times to get to 10-all. Three straight LU errors gave the Bobcats the lead and, despite pulling within a point on two different occasions, Loyola could not get over the hump as MSU forced a fifth set with a 25-21 win.
After alternating points to get to 3-3 in the final set, Loyola was able to take control. The Ramblers sandwiched kills from Purcell and Hastings around a Hastings solo stuff to take a 6-3 lead and the bulge grew to four (9-5) on a Bobcats error. Loyola kept pushing, taking a 12-7 lead after kills from Purcell and Styler, and Wrobel closed out the win by serving up her second ace of the night on match point.
Hastings and Bresser led the way with 13 kills apiece, with Hastings adding four aces and Bresser pitching in with six blocks (3 solo, 3 assists). They were joined in double figures by Styler (12 kills) and Purcell (11 kills, 11 digs). Wrobel guided the team to a .219 hitting percentage, handing out 45 assists and narrowly missing a double-double with nine digs.
Loyola returns to action this weekend when they travel to Iowa City, Iowa to compete in the Hawkeye Invitational. The Ramblers open tournament play on Friday night against Oakland.
