Box Score

Tucson, Ariz. - Sami Hansen posted eight kills and six blocks and Morgan Reardon added eight kills, seven digs and four aces to lead a balanced Loyola team to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-9) sweep of Alabama State in its final match at the Arizona Invitational. The Ramblers get back to .500 at 3-3 while the Hornets slip to 2-6 with the loss.

Alabama State got an early jump, scoring five of the first seven points of the match. Four straight points gave Loyola its first lead at 8-7 but struggles from the service line allowed the Hornets to hang around. Hansen recorded two kills in an 8-1 spurt that turned an 11-11 tie into a 19-12 Rambler lead and Loyola would cruise to the finish line with a Kathleen Vogel kill wrapping up a 25-16, opening-set victory.

Loyola edged out to a 7-4 lead in the second set courtesy of a block from Hansen and Caroline Holt and Libby Bresser had a kill and a block later as the Ramblers doubled up their opponent, 12-6. A Hansen kill got Loyola to the 20-point mark first with a comfortable lead and, after five straight Alabama State points, LU regrouped and a Mary Kate Styler kill wrapped up a 25-19 win that gave the Ramblers a 2-0 lead in the match.

Kills from Hansen, Reardon and Laura Purcell helped stake the Ramblers to an early 5-1 lead in the third set and they would not take their foot off the gas. Three straight aces from Reardon made it a 10-2 lead and an ASU setting error later increased the margin to 10 (16-6). With the finish line in sight, Hansen teamed with Brittany Brown and Styler for blocks on consecutive points before closing out the match with her eighth kill.

After hitting .316 in the opening frame, the Ramblers hit .429 and .444, respectively, in the last two sets to finish with a season-best .381 efficiency.

Hansen and Reardon had plenty of support, as five Loyola hitters notched between six and eight kills. Purcell and Bresser racked up seven apiece with Vogel adding six kills and eight digs. Holt dished out 30 assists while orchestrating the offense and Kelly Feigh recorded a team-high nine digs from her libero spot.

Loyola stays in the Chicagoland area next weekend, competing at the Wildcat Challenge hosted by Northwestern. The Ramblers open up tournament play on Friday morning (Sept. 12) with a 10 a.m. match against Virginia.