GAME INFORMATION
Location: Victor E. Court -- DeKalb, Ill.
Final Score: DePaul 3-1 Loyola (25-21, 21-25, 25-23, 25-17)
Records: DePaul (1-0); Loyola (0-1)
Stats: Box Score 

In Short... Sami Hansen posted a match-high 13 kills and added four blocks but it was not enough as Loyola dropped its 2016 season opener to DePaul, 3-1, this afternoon at the NIU Invitational in DeKalb, Ill.

How it Happened + DePaul scored the first five points of the match before Morgan Reardon got the Ramblers on the board with a kill
+ The Ramblers began to chip away and eventually pulled even at 11 on a Hansen kill
+ DePaul scored the next three to reopen the lead and it managed to hang on, despite Loyola pulling within a point on four different occasions down the stretch, to take the opening set, 25-21
+ Loyola fell behind 4-1 early in the second set before using a big run to take control
+ A Reardon kill made it 8-5 and kickstarted an 11-2 run, that included two kills and a block from Quinn Spieker, to give the Ramblers a 15-10 lead
+ The Blue Demons pulled within one (22-21) late but two Spieker kills helped the Ramblers hang on and even the match with a 25-21 win
+ A kill and an ace from Hansen helped the Ramblers to an early 6-3 lead in the third set and it was a 15-10 advantage after kills from Hansen and Maddy Moser
+ DePaul battled back and trailed by only one before kills from Gabi Macigowski and Hansen made it a 21-18 game
+ However, the Blue Demons closed the frame strong, scoring seven of the last nine points to earn a 25-23 win and take a 2-1 lead in the match
+ They carried that momentum into the fourth set, taking leads of 7-3, 13-6 and 21-10 before closing out the match with a 25-17 win

Inside the Numbers + Loyola lost despite enjoying a 55-43 edge in kills and a 62-56 advantage in digs
+ Hansen was terrific, posting 13 kills to go with four blocks and a pair of aces to lead the attack
+ She was joined in double figures by Reardon (11 kills) and Maciagowski (11) with Spieker racking up nine kills and six digs in her first collegiate match
+ Wolf did a solid job running the show from her setter spot, recording a double-double of 39 assists and 12 digs
+ Moser was effective from her libero spot, posting a match-high 24 digs in addition to a pair of kills
+ With her 11 kills, Reardon is now 18 shy of reaching the 1,000 mark for her career

Up Next
Loyola wraps up tournament play with a pair of matches tomorrow, starting with a 10 a.m. tilt against Iowa