Box Score

Newark, Del. - Loyola's women's volleyball team opened the 2014 season with a 3-0 (25-7, 25-20, 25-18) loss to Rhode Island this afternoon in the opening game of the UD Courtyard By Marriott Invite hosted by the University of Delaware. Sophomore Morgan Reardon led Loyola with eight kills.

Rhode Island jumped on the Ramblers from the opening serve, using four blocks to jump out to a 9-0 lead. A Maureen Carls kill got Loyola on the board but the Ramblers struggled to string points together and the Rams cruised to a 25-7 victory. Loyola struggled to find its rhythm offensively, hitting -.172 (5-10-29) in the set while URI peppered the ball at a .500 (10-0-20) clip.

Loyola got off to another slow start in the second frame, with three more hitting errors helping Rhode Island race out to a 7-1 advantage. This time, the Ramblers would battle back. Sami Hansen had a kill and teamed up with Reardon and Caroline Holt for two blocks as LU drew within three, 9-6. Rhode Island answered by scoring four of the next five points to extend its lead back to six before a 9-3 Rambler spurt, capped by a Stephanie Kinane ace, forged a 16-16 tie. The teams traded points to 18-all before the Rams rattled off three straight to grab a 21-18 lead. Two Reardon kills made it a one-point game again but URI's Frankie Darnold had two kills in a set-ending 4-0 run that gave the Rams a commanding 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-20 victory. Hansen had four kills in four swings to pace LU in the set while Reardon also added four put-aways.

The third set was close in the early stages before kills from Callan Kinnan and Caroline Casey helped Rhode Island to a 10-7 lead. It was a 13-8 score after another URI block before kills from Laura Purcell and Kathleen Vogel helped get the Ramblers within a pair, 14-12. Loyola was down just three, 16-13, before a five-point Rhode Island scoring run made it a 21-13 game and the Rams eased to the finish from there, with Darnold's 13th kill of the day providing the final point.

Rhode Island enjoyed a .294-.029 advantage in efficiency for the match, as the Ramblers were plagued by 26 hitting errors.

Reardon finished with a team-high eight kills but hit -.088 and struggled to find her groove. Hansen added five kills. Kelly Feigh, in her first match as libero, recorded 11 digs while freshman Caroline Holt dished out 20 assists and dug five balls in two sets of action as a substitute.

Loyola must regroup quickly as the Ramblers face host Delaware tomorrow at Noon before closing out tournament play with a 3:30 p.m. tilt against Albany.