Final Stats

CHICAGO, Ill. - The Loyola University Chicago volleyball team fell just short of a comeback victory against Wichita State on Friday night, as the Shockers topped the Ramblers in a five-set thriller (18-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-21, 15-13). Four Ramblers recorded double-digit kills in the loss, led by Sami Hansen's season-high of 15. Caroline Holt shattered her previous career-high kills total, firing 10 kills on 11 swings to post a .818 hitting clip to go along with 47 assists, marking her second double-double of the season. With the loss, Loyola drops to 8-8 in Missouri Valley Conference play while Wichita State improves to 13-2.

"It was a great match and I'm proud of how this team fought and battled," said head coach Chris Muscat. "The team remained focused throughout the entire match."

Loyola jumped out to a 4-0 lead to begin set one, led by kills from Morgan Reardon and Maureen Carls and a Stephanie Kinane service ace. The Ramblers maintained the steady lead behind kills from Carls, Holt and Jackie Kocken until Wichita State scored eight of the next nine points to take a 17-13 lead, forcing Loyola to use both timeouts during the stretch. The Shockers held on to claim set one, 25-18, after outhitting the Ramblers .219 to .054.

Wichita State took an early 12-7 lead to open set two, but Loyola then scored four unanswered points, including three kills and a block assist from Hansen, to cut the Shocker lead to one and force a timeout. The two teams then battled back-and-forth until back-to-back points from Gabi Maciagowski, a kill and a block, upped the Rambler lead to 20-17, forcing a Wichita State timeout. The Shockers then managed to pull within one point, but Loyola went on to win set two, 25-23, behind kills from Holt, Maciagowski, Hansen and Reardon.

After trading points to begin set three, Wichita State scored five straight to take a 10-6 lead and force a Loyola timeout. The Ramblers then rallied to score six of the next eight points, including kills from Carls, Holt, Hansen and Reardon, along with service aces from Carls and Alex Nunez, to tie the set at 12-12. However, the Shockers responded with a run of their own to reclaim the lead and up the score to 18-14, forcing the Ramblers to use their final timeout. Loyola managed to cut the lead to two, but Wichita State went on to score five of the final seven points of the set to win it, 25-21.

The teams battled back-and-forth to open set four until Wichita State scored three straight to take a 13-10 lead, forcing a Loyola timeout. The Ramblers then responded by scoring eight of the next nine points, led by kills from Holt, Reardon and Carls and a Maddy Moser service ace, to take an 18-14 lead. Loyola was able to hold on and take set four, 25-21, and send the match to a fifth set after outhitting Wichita State .270 to .133.

The Ramblers raced out to a 6-2 lead to begin the deciding set, led by kills from Reardon, Hansen and Maciagowski, along with a Kocken kill, to force a Wichita State timeout. After cutting the lead to 9-4, the Shockers scored six consecutive points to take a one-point lead, forcing the Ramblers to use both timeouts during the stretch. Loyola hung around, as Holt, Maciagowski and Kocken recorded kills, before Nunez fired a service ace to tie the set at 13-13. However, a pair of Rambler errors then gave Wichita State the final two points of the set and the overall victory.

Loyola is back in action on Sunday when the Ramblers host Missouri State in the final home match of the season. A win on Sunday would not only secure Loyola a spot at the Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Championship, but would also mark the program's first 20-win season since 2004. In addition, seniors Brittany Brown, Maureen Carls, Stephanie Kinane and Kathleen Vogel will be honored prior to Sunday's contest.