Sept. 27, 2013
Box Score
Evansville, Ind. - Morgan Reardon ripped a season-high 19 kills and Loyola's defense dug 56 balls and limited Evansville to just 29 kills for the match as the Ramblers picked up their first Missouri Valley road win with a 3-0 sweep tonight in Evansville, Ind. Loyola gets back to the .500 mark overall (7-7) and improves to 2-1 in conference play. Evansville slips to 5-9, 0-3 with the loss.
"I thought this was a great team win tonight," said head coach Chris Muscat. "We stayed aggressive the entire match, made plays down the stretch to win sets and turned in a fantastic defensive effort. We did the things that you have to do if you want to be a good road team, particularly against conference opponents."
Evansville used three blocks in the first five rallies to grab an early 4-1 lead but Loyola was not deterred. A kill from Maureen Carls quickly made it a 7-6 game and the Ramblers pulled even at nine after two Evansville errors. The teams essentially traded points all the way to 16-all before a Kathleen Vogel kill and a block from Olivia Akin and Carls gave the visitors an 18-16 edge. The lead grew to three (21-18) later on a Reardon solo stuff and the Ramblers earned four set points after consecutive Aces errors made it a 24-20 game. Although the home team scored three straight to make it interesting, an Emily Carr kill closed out a 25-23 win to get Loyola off on the right foot. Reardon and Carr combined for 10 of Loyola's 15 kills in the set.
The Ramblers found themselves in a 4-1 hole in the second set as well before settling in. Back-to-back kills from Carr plus a block from Libby Bresser and Brittany Brown capped a four-point scoring run that put LU in front and the Ramblers extended to a 15-10 advantage on a Vogel ace. Evansville would not quit and began to chip away and the hosts took a 21-20 lead after a block. Two Laura Purcell kills later gave Loyola the lead back (23-22) and, after a service error forged the sixth tie of the frame, Reardon closed it out with two straight kills to send the Ramblers to the locker room with a 2-0 lead in the match.
The home team started strong yet again in the third set, scoring the first three points before Loyola took control. Reardon hammered down six kills in a 9-0 run that gave the Ramblers a 9-3 lead and they would protect the lead the rest of the way. The Purple Aces managed to get within four (12-8) but Loyola found its rhythm again, opening up a 20-10 lead on another Reardon kill. The Maroon and Gold was able to side-out from there with a UE error providing the final point.
Reardon was sensational, finishing with 19 kills and a .406 (19-6-32) efficiency on the outside to lead the Ramblers. Carr was also effective, ripping a career-best 12 kills (12-2-18, .556) while Purcell added eight put-aways (8-3-16, .312).
Defensively, it was a complete team effort as five Ramblers recorded six or more digs, led by Vogel and Kelly Feigh with 12 apiece.
Loyola wraps up the weekend tomorrow afternoon with a 3 p.m. match at Southern Illinois.
