Box Score

Normal, Ill. - High-flying Illinois State maintained its perfect conference record with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-17) win over Loyola tonight at Redbird Arena in Normal, Ill. Emily Carr had 10 kills to lead the Ramblers, who drop to 7-16 (3-11 Missouri Valley), while the home team improves to 19-5 (13-0) with the win.

"There were periods tonight where we played well but ultimately we made too many errors," said head coach Chris Muscat.

To that point, errors on the first three points of the match helped spot Illinois State a four-point lead and the Ramblers found themselves in an 8-2 hole after an Ashley Rosch kill. Loyola finally settled in and scored four of the next five points, capped by a Morgan Reardon ace, to get within three (9-6). Consecutive ISU errors later made it a two-point game 13-11, before the Redbirds opened it back up to five on another Rosch kill. Trailing 19-13, Loyola made another push. Carr had two kills and a block in a 7-2 spurt that cut the Ramblers' deficit to just one, 21-20. The teams traded points to 22-21 before two LU errors set Illinois State up with a couple of set points, which the Redbirds cashed in via a service error, claiming the opening set by a 25-22 score.

A 10-2 run early in the second set helped Illinois State take an 11-5 lead early in the frame. Loyola was able to stem the tide and was still only down by five (14-9) after a Libby Bresser kill and an ISU error but the Redbirds ran off the next five points to open up a double-digit lead and a Jaelyn Keene kill capped a 25-15 win that gave the home team a 2-0 lead in the match.

Stephanie Kinane opened the third set with consecutive aces as the Ramblers, with their backs against the wall, got off to a hot start. Illinois State inched out to a 14-9 lead and was up 17-12 before a four-point Loyola run, highlighted by a kill and an ace from Reardon, made it a 17-16 game. The teams traded points to 18-17 before Illinois State closed with a flourish, rattling off the last seven points to earn the win.

Carr led the way for the Ramblers, equaling her season-high with 10 kills. Reardon added seven kills, seven digs and two aces while Hansen pitched in with six kills off the bench. Rosch led Illinois State with 12 kills.

Loyola wraps up its weekend trip tomorrow night when it takes on Indiana State at 6 p.m.