CHICAGO -

Final Score: Loyola 3, Southern Illinois 1 (25-23, 25-20, 23-25, 25-21)
Records: Loyola (8-9, 3-1 MVC); Southern Illinois (13-6, 4-1 MVC)
Location: Gentile Arena -- Chicago, Ill.
Stats: Box Score  | Season Stats 

In Short
Gabi Maciagowski posted a match-high 21 kills and Loyola University Chicago hit .336 (66-22-131) as a team en route to a 25-23, 25-20, 23-25, 25-21 victory over Southern Illinois, which entered the night tied for first place in the Missouri Valley Conference, tonight at Gentile Arena. The win is the Ramblers’ third in a row, matching their longest streak of the season.

How It Happened
Maciagowski tallied four kills as Loyola opened up a 16-12 advantage in the first set before Southern Illinois rallied to even things up at 19. But Maciagowski put a stop to the Saluki rally with a kill to give the Ramblers the lead for good. Back-to-back stops from Morgan Reardon and an Alex Nunez service ace put the Ramblers on top 24-20 and after SIU trimmed the Loyola lead to 24-23, Sami Hansen drilled a kill to provide the final margin in the opening set.

Loyola trailed 19-15 in set two before storming back to record 10 of the final 11 points of the set for a 25-20 victory. A SIU attack error opened the flood gates as the Ramblers ripped off five straight points, with Reardon and Hansen each recording a pair of kills in that stretch, to give the hosts a 20-19 lead. After the Salukis evened the set up on a Kolby Meeks kill, Hansen bookended the final 5-0 surge with kills as the Ramblers took a 2-0 lead in the match.

Clinging to a 20-19 lead in the third set, Maciagowski, Reardon and Quinn Spieker posted consecutive kills to give Loyola a seemingly commanding 23-19 lead. However, Southern Illinois rattled off the final six points of the set, three coming via Abby Barrow kills, for a 25-23 victory.

The Ramblers trailed by as many of three points early in the fourth set, but showed their resolve and the heart of a champion, in rallying for a 25-21 win. With the score knotted up at 20, Hansen came up big yet again, tallying the first of three kills down the stretch to give Loyola the lead for good, and just like in sets one and two, her kill provided the Maroon and Gold with set point.

Looking At The Numbers
- Loyola had a solid offensive weekend, hitting a combined .310 (107-37-226) in the pair of victories.
- The Ramblers hit a season-high .336 as a team in tonight’s victory, the best mark since posting a .363 (46-13-91) hitting percentage in a victory over Bradley on October 24, 2015.
- Reardon extended her string of consecutive matches with double-digit kills to eight and she also notched her sixth double-double of the year, including her third in the last five matches, with 13 kills and 11 digs tonight.
- Hansen recorded a season-high 14 kills, her most since November 13, 2015, when she tallied 15 versus Wichita State.
- Reardon moved into seventh place on Loyola's all-time kills chart, ahead of Sarah Poglits (1,206). Reardon, who has 1,213 career kills, needs 30 more stops to tie Kelly Price (1997-2000) for sixth place on the school's career chart.

Coach Muscat Said
“What a big night for Gabi. She was able to side us out of some tough spots tonight and Sami is really starting to find her groove. I’m really pleased with how this group responded after the third set. I think that speaks to our mental toughness and shows that we have a group that has a will to win.”

Up Next
Loyola visits Wichita State (Oct. 7) and Missouri State (Oct. 8) next weekend before opening up a five-match homestand on Oct. 14.