Nov. 15, 2014
Box Score
CHICAGO - Host UIC won both of the close sets, negating a 14-kill, 11-dig, six-block performance from
Morgan Reardon, to grab a 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-23, 25-18) win over the Ramblers tonight on the west side in LU's non-conference finale. The Ramblers drop to 7-18 while UIC moves to 14-15 with the win.
The first set was tight throughout with UIC gaining some breathing room, 14-12, after back-to-back aces. Consecutive Sami Hansen aces keyed a 5-1 Rambler spurt that gave the visitors a 17-15 advantage and the teams went back-and-forth down the stretch. A Molly McCoy kill and an Anne O'Reilly ace broke a 21-all tie and put the Flames up by two and they were able to side-out the rest of the way, earning a 25-23 win after a Loyola error.
The Ramblers took control of the second set early, jumping out to a 4-1 lead on a UIC error and never letting up. An Emily Carr kill and consecutive UIC errors extended the lead to six (11-5) and it was an 18-9 margin after a Hansen kill. The lead grew to 10 on a block from Brittany Brown and Libby Bresser before a Reardon kill capped a 25-18 win that evened the match at intermission.
The all-important third set was one of runs, as Loyola's 3-0 lead was quickly erased courtesy of an 8-2 UIC spurt that gave the home team the lead. The Ramblers trailed 11-6 before kills from Bresser and Carr highlighted a four-point scoring run that pulled them within one, 11-10. Consecutive roofs from Reardon gave LU a 15-14 lead and the guests kept pushing, opening a 19-16 lead after back-to-back Carr kills. However, UIC scored five of the next seven points to pull even at 21 and, after trading points to 23-all, used a Loyola service error and a hitting error to steal a 25-23 win that gave it the lead in the match.
Loyola recovered and stormed out of the gates in the fourth set, scoring six straight points to open an early 7-2 bulge. However, UIC managed to stem the tide and used a 7-1 run of its own to turn a 9-4 deficit into an 11-10 lead midway through the set. Loyola hung tough and trailed just 16-15 before the Flames put the match away, rattling off five straight points to take a commanding 21-15 lead before a Sara Sternard kill closed out the set, 25-18, and the match, 3-1.
Reardon was solid, tying for match-high honors with her 14 kills while adding 11 digs and a career-high six blocks to lead the way. She was joined in double figures by Carr (11 kills) and Brown, who slammed 10 kills at a .353 clip. Caroline Holt dished out 46 assists while Stephanie Kinane notched a match-best 14 digs.
Loyola continues its road swing through the Land of Lincoln tomorrow night when it takes on Bradley at 7 p.m.
