Oct. 27, 2012
Box Score
CHICAGO - Loyola got off to a solid start but it could not sustain it in a 3-1 (21-25, 28-26, 25-14, 25-19) setback to Cleveland State this afternoon at Gentile Arena. The Ramblers drop to 15-9 (7-4 Horizon) while the Vikings (18-6, 10-1) put a stranglehold on their lead atop the Horizon League standings.
Two Anna Eytchison kills and one from Laura Purcell helped the Ramblers race out to a 4-0 lead and two kills from Libby Bresser helped the home team extend the margin to seven, 9-2. A Stephanie Kinane ace and a Kathleen Vogel kill bumped the lead up to nine before Cleveland State began to get into the match. A Viking block cut Loyola's lead to five (13-8) but an Eytchison kill capped a 4-1 run that bumped the lead back to eight, 17-9. The visitors had one more run in them, eventually getting within a point at 21-20, but a service error and kills from Purcell and Vogel got the Ramblers to the brink and another Vogel kill wrapped up a 25-21 victory.
Cleveland State jumped out to a 10-6 lead in the second set but a pair of Viking errors later helped Loyola pull even at 13-13. The visitors rattled off five of the next six points to restore a four-point lead and they still led 23-20 after a Kara Koch kill before the Ramblers rallied. A Bresser kill and a CSU error made it 23-22 but a service error gave Cleveland State two set points. An attack error and a Vogel kill kept the Ramblers alive and Bresser and Vogel each had kills to erase two more Viking opportunities before a block gave Cleveland State a 28-26 win to even the match.
The third set was all Cleveland State as the Vikings raced out to leads or 5-1 and 10-4 in the early stages. A block from Purcell and Bresser pulled the Ramblers within four (13-9) but they were unable to string points together the rest of the way, with a Marie Frease kill closing out a 25-14 win in a set where the home team hit -.103 (6-10-39).
Loyola came out strong with the match on the line in the fourth set as the teams were tied seven times to 9-all. Two Koch kills helped Cleveland State open a 12-9 lead but a Purcell kill later forged another deadlock at 13-13. After trading points to 14-all, the Vikings took control, ripping off five straight points to take a 19-14 lead and Loyola would get no closer than four the rest of the way.
Eytchison led all hitters with 17 kills but hit just .029 (17-15-68) for the match. Vogel added 15 kills in support while Purcell racked up 10 kills and tied her career high with seven blocks. Kinane was solid in the back row, notching a match-high 28 digs.
Loyola returns to the court next weekend when it makes it annual trip through Wisconsin to take on Green Bay and Milwaukee.
