Oct. 12, 2013
Box Score
Peoria, Ill. - Maureen Carls and Kathleen Vogel had 10 kills apiece but Bradley rallied to win the opening set and never looked back in a 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-19) win over the Ramblers tonight at Renaissance Coliseum in Peoria, Ill. The Ramblers drop to 8-11 (3-4 Missouri Valley) while Bradley improves to 10-6 (4-3) with the win.
Bradley scored four of the first five points of the match and still led 11-7 after an Amy Angelos kill before Loyola was finally able to string some points together. Laura Purcell followed a Vogel kill with one of her own and two Bradley errors made it an 11-11 game before LU took its first lead of the match (15-14) on a Carls kill. The teams battled back and forth and the Ramblers held a 22-21 lead after a Bradley error but it was the home team that made the final push, using an Angelos kill and three errors to score the last four points of the set and escape with a 25-22 victory. Vogel had four kills in the frame to lead the Loyola offense.
Loyola found itself playing from behind in the second set as well, falling behind 5-2 before trying to battle back. A Brittany Brown kill made it a two-point game (10-8) and LU was down just three (13-10) later after a Libby Bresser kill. However, Bradley scored 10 of the next 15 points to open up a commanding 23-15 lead and held off a late charge to earn a 25-18 win and take a 2-0 lead in the match. Bresser had five kills on seven errorless swings in the set as Loyola hit a respectable .268 but the Braves were just a bit better, posting a .417 (16-1-36) efficiency in the set.
The third set was similar to the second, with Loyola falling behind 5-2 after two errors. Loyola trailed just 10-7 after a Purcell kill but Bradley was able to take control of the match shortly thereafter. After a Loyola service error gave BU a 13-8 lead, Lea Sack served up six straight points to give the Braves a commanding 19-9 lead. The Ramblers did not quit, answering with four straight points of their own, but it was not enough as Bradley closed out the match with a 25-19 win.
The hosts outhit Loyola .277-.206 for the match with the teams relatively even in both digs (64-59, Bradley) and blocks (3-3).
Carls and Vogel led the Ramblers with 10 kills each while Bresser added eight at a .533 (8-0-15) clip. Stephanine Kinane and Brown led a strong defensive effort with 16 and 15 digs, respectively.
Loyola hits the road again next weekend for matches at Missouri State (Fri., Oct. 18) and Wichita State (Sat., Oct. 19).
