Aug 31, 2013

Box Score

Toledo, Ohio - Four different Loyola attackers posted at least seven kills and the Ramblers had their most efficient offensive performance of the young season in a 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-20) sweep of Marist this morning at the UT Blue/Gold Volleyball Invitational in Toledo, Ohio. Sophomore Maureen Carls led the way, tying her career high with 10 kills.

"From a technical perspective, we did a lot of good things today," said head coach Chris Muscat. "I think sometimes we need to increase our energy level in order for us to be able to communicate better and I thought both energy and communication were great. Everyone was really clear on their role and executed them very well."

Loyola got off to a slow start in the opening set where, after a Morgan Reardon kill to start the match, Marist rattled off five straight points to take control. Olivia Akin teamed with Carls and Kathleen Vogel for a pair of blocks to help Loyola settle in and the Ramblers eventually pulled even at 9-9 on a Libby Bresser kill. A Brittany Brown kill later gave LU its first lead but the set was still up for grabs after a Grace Hill kill forged a 20-20 deadlock. Reardon put Loyola back on top with a kill and teamed with classmate Akin for a block to give LU a small cushion. A Marist error sent the Ramblers to set point (24-21) and Reardon closed it out three points later with her fifth kill of the set.

A couple of service aces and kills from Brown and Carls helped Loyola jump out to an early 9-6 lead in the second set. A Bresser kill later made it a 10-7 game and the junior middle served up five more points, including back-to-back kills from Akin, as Loyola extended to a 14-8 advantage. The Ramblers were still firmly in control after a Vogel kill made it 19-13 but Marist rallied, using three straight Hill kills to get within three, 19-16. However, Bresser and Vogel answered with consecutive kills and the Ramblers cruised to a 25-20 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Two Vogel kills early in the third set staked the Ramblers to a 7-3 lead and the bulge grew to six (12-6) on a Bresser ace. After Marist crept back within four during the middle stages of the set, Carls took over, ripping four straight kills to account for all the points in a scoring run that gave LU a commanding 19-11 advantage. However, the Red Foxes responded by scoring six of the next seven to get back within three (20-17) but a kill and ace from Vogel stemmed the tide and a Marist hitting error sealed the match.

"One of our main goals today was to bring as much energy to the table as we could," said libero Stephanie Kinane. "We all play better when we are up, focused and ready to go."

Carls ripped six of her 10 kills in the third set to pace the offense. She received plenty of help from Reardon (nine kills, 9-1-16, .500), Bresser (eight kills) and Vogel (seven kills, nine digs). Brown finished with four kills, 34 assists and eight digs while guiding the offense to a season-best .315 hitting percentage and Kinane led the defense, racking up 14 digs.

Loyola closes out tournament play this afternoon with a 4 p.m. match against West Virginia.