Final Stats

CARBONDALE, Ill. - After dropping the first set of Saturday night's game against Southern Illinois, the Loyola University Chicago volleyball team rallied to win the next three and top the Salukis, 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-16, 26-24). The Ramblers defeated both Evansville and Southern Illinois over the weekend to improve to 14-3 overall and 3-1 in Missouri Valley Conference play.

Morgan Reardon led the Ramblers with 12 kills, while Maureen Carls, Sami Hansen and Morgan Gresham each added nine apiece. Caroline Holt recorded a match-high 33 assists, while Carls, Hansen and Gabi Maciagowski each tallied four blocks.

"It was a great road win for us," said head coach Chris Muscat. "We were able to respond well and adjust throughout the match and execute in some very clutch moments."

"We were able to make the necessary adjustment to bounce back after the first set," added Hansen. "I'm really proud of the way we handled the pressure."

After trading points to begin set one, Southern Illinois scored back-to-back to take a 15-13 lead and force Loyola to call a timeout. The Salukis then continued to rally, scoring six of the next nine points to up the lead to 21-16, forcing the Ramblers to use their final timeout. Maciagowski then scored back-to-back, firing a kill before combining with Carls for a block, to cut the Saluki lead to 21-18 and force a Southern Illinois timeout. However, the Salukis scored four of the next five points to end set one, 25-19.

The two teams battled back-and-forth to open set two until the Salukis scored back-to-back on a kill and a Rambler error to take a 9-7 lead, forcing a Loyola timeout. Two straight kills from Carls and Reardon then tied the set before a three-point run, including a Carls kill and back-to-back service aces from Maddy Moser, gave Loyola the 19-15 lead and forced a Saluki timeout. Southern Illinois then rallied to pull within one, but Hansen and Maciagowski combined for the final three points of the set to win it, 25-22.

The Ramblers raced out to an 8-4 lead to begin set three after Carls and Caroline Holt combined for four straight points, forcing a Saluki timeout. Southern Illinois steadily cut the lead, eventually pulling to within two points, but the Ramblers scored the next five of eight, including two kills apiece from Hansen and Reardon, to up the lead to 17-12. Loyola then held on to claim set three, 25-16, and take an overall 2-0 lead.

Loyola opened set four by jumping out to a 6-2 lead after scoring four straight points, including kills from Reardon and Holt and a Reardon solo block, to force a Southern Illinois timeout. The Salukis then managed to tie the set, and the two teams traded points until a four-point Loyola run, led by a Reardon kill, a service ace from Holt and a double stuff by Hansen and Reardon, put the Ramblers back on top, 16-12. Southern Illinois managed to tie the set at 22-22, but back-to-back kills from Brittany Brown and Carls gave Loyola the 24-22 advantage. The Salukis scored the next two points to tie the set once again, but kills from Brown and Reardon ended it, 26-24, to give Loyola the 3-1 victory.

The Ramblers return home next weekend for games against Illinois State and Indiana State on Oct. 9 and Oct. 10.