Aug. 26, 2012
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA - Laura Purcell recored a season-high 15 kills to lead Loyola to a 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-16) sweep of Bucknell this afternoon at the La Salle Invitational in Philadelphia, Pa. The Ramblers did not drop a set over the weekend en route to the tournament title. Bucknell drops to 2-1 with the loss.
Bucknell had the better of things early in the opening set, using two Loyola errors to grab a 12-8 lead. Kills from Libby Bresser and Nichole Riedel and a pair of Bucknell errors helped the Ramblers draw even at 12 and a four-point scoring run later, capped by a Purcell kill, gave LU a 16-14 advantage. Loyola fell behind one last time, 18-17, before seizing control with a 5-0 scoring burst and it had to hold off one last Bison push at the end before Bresser closed out a 25-23 win.
Loyola spotted Bucknell a 4-1 lead in the second set before embarking on a 7-1 run of its own to take the lead. A kill from Claire Healy pulled Bucknell within two (12-10) but it was all Loyola the rest of the way. Purcell had a kill and a block as the Ramblers rattled off six straight points on Stephanie Kinane's serve to take a commanding 19-10 lead and Mary Kate Styler sent the Ramblers to intermission up 2-0 after a 25-16 win.
Purcell opened the third set with two straight kills and an Anna Eytchison kill moments later gave LU an early 6-1 lead. Bucknell responded with six straight points to grab an 11-10 lead before a Brittany Brown kill slowed its momentum. After trading points to 12-all, kills from Eytchison, Styler and two from Purcell highlighted a 5-0 run that gave Loyola a 17-12 lead and the Ramblers would not look back, closing out the match with Kristen Haggenjos' first kill of the season.
Loyola hit .268 for the match, and .267 for the weekend, while holding the Bison to just a .102 efficiency.
Purcell was terrific, going for 15 kills (15-2-25, .520) to lead the way for Loyola. Bresser gave the Ramblers solid production in the middle, finishing with 10 kills and four blocks, while Eytchison added eight kills and seven digs.
Loyola returns to action next weekend when it travels to Terre Haute, Ind. for a tournament hosted by Indiana State.
