Box Score

Palo Alto, Calif. - Sophomore Laura Purcell pounded a match-high 15 kills to lead Loyola but No. 8 Stanford proved to be too much, scoring the last eight points to close out a 3-1 (25-16, 25-27, 25-15, 25-15) win over the Ramblers this afternoon at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, Calif. Loyola slips to 5-4 while the Cardinal improves to 5-2 with the win.

"Even though we did not get the result we wanted I thought we did some really nice things today," said head coach Chris Muscat, who began his collegiate coaching career as a volunteer assistant coach at Stanford. "We did the things well that Loyola volleyball does well. We served aggressively and effectively and we able to get them out of system some, we blocked well for large portions of the match and we were able to stay in system ourselves for the most part."

Loyola was slow to settle in at the start and the home team took advtantage, racing out to a 6-1 lead to prompt a timeout. The Ramblers responded and cut the deficit to three on a Libby Bresser kill but Stanford managed to methodically extend its lead, taking a 17-9 lead on a Lydia Bai kill. Purcell had two kills as the Ramblers scored four of the next five to get within five (18-13) but Bai was too much down the stretch, accounting for the last three Cardinal points with a solo block and two kills to secure a 25-16 win.

The teams traded the first 10 points of the second set before a pair of LU errors pushed the Cardinal out in front, 7-5. Kills from Bresser and Purcell helped Loyola regain the lead and the Ramblers extended to a 14-11 advantage on a Kathleen Vogel kill and a block from Nichole Riedel and Brittany Brown. Stanford answered by scoring the next three to knot it up again but Loyola was unfazed and moved out to a 21-17 lead after an Anna Eytchison ace. A Purcell kill put LU two points away with a 23-20 lead but the Cardinal would not go quietly. An Inky Ajanaku kill tied it at 23-all and Stanford had a set point with a 25-24 lead after a Brittany Howard block. However, two Eytchison kills sandwiched a block from Bresser and Riedel as the Ramblers stunned the home crowd with a 27-25 win.

Loyola carried the momentum into the third set and took an early 4-2 lead after back-to-back aces from Vicki Wrobel. However, Stanford rattled off the next nine in succession to take an 11-4 advantage and the Ramblers were forced to play catch up the rest of the way. Loyola hung it and worked its way back into the set, pulling within four (14-10) after two Brown aces but Stanford had too much firepower and slowly pulled away to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

The fourth set was close early and the teams were tied eight different times to 9-all. Stanford ripped off three straight to take a 12-9 lead but kills from Eytchison and Purcell helped the Ramblers score the next four to regain the lead, 13-12. The Cardinal answered and but Loyola was still down just two (17-15) after another Purcell kill but that would prove to be LU's final point, as Stanford's Haley Spelman was able to serve out the final seven points to close out the match.

"I think we took some huge steps forward, especially in the development of our younger players," continued Muscat. "We are learning to impose our will and play our style and not let our opponent dictate how we play. It certainly is a process but playing well against elite level competition can only accelerate our development."

Purcell was terrific for Loyola, finishing with 15 kills against just one error in 24 swings (15-1-24, .583). Eytchison shook off a slow start to finish with 10 kills of her own while Vogel added eight kills and eight digs. Freshman libero Stephanie Kinane continued her solid run of play, posting 21 digs.

Loyola wraps up tournament play tonight with a 10 p.m. match against Santa Clara.