Boxscore (PDF) 

PEORIA, Ill. (October 7, 2017)
 
In Short
Freshman Elle Van Grinsven tallied a season-high 17 kills and six blocks, but Loyola University Chicago couldn't finish off host Bradley (8-13, 1-6 MVC) as the Braves rallied for a 24-26, 23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 15-12 victory tonight at Renaissance Coliseum. Loyola, which went the distance for the first time this season, falls to 1-16 overall and 0-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference with the loss.
 
How It Happened
Led by Van Grinsven, who notched seven kills and three blocks in the opening set, Loyola hit .289 (17-4-45) to rally from an 11-5 deficit to earn a 26-24 victory. Bradley seemed in control with a 23-18 advantage late in the set, but the Ramblers finished with a flourish, tallying eight of the final nine points to earn the win. Haley Hoffman's kill ignited the decisive 8-1 run, which also included three blocks and a kill from Van Grinsven.
 
The Ramblers were forced to rally in set two after digging themselves a 10-4 hole, and rode a 6-1 run to close within 11-10 and get back into the contest. With Loyola trailing 22-21, Quinn Spieker and Hoffman teamed up on a block to even the score and Kocken and Van Grinsven followed with another rejection to put the Ramblers ahead, 23-22. After the Braves knotted things up at 23, Spieker closed out another stunning rally with back-to-back kills for a 25-23 victory.
 
Bradley darted out to a 7-3 lead in set three and never allowed Loyola to get closer than two points en route to a 25-20 victory that kept the Braves' hopes alive.
 
Loyola benefitted from a cold-hitting Bradley squad early on in set four as it seized a 7-2 advantage before the Braves slowly chipped away at the Rambler lead. A Morgan Gresham kill gave the Ramblers an 18-16 advantage, but Bradley took control of the match by rattling off four straight points for a 20-18 lead it would never surrender.
 
For the first time this season, Loyola went to a fifth set, reeling off three straight points to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 edge. A Braves attack error knotted the score at 9, but from there, Bradley ripped off three unanswered scores to claim a 12-9 lead and never looked back en route to a 15-12 victory that completed the comeback.
 
A Look At The Numbers

• Loyola hit .239 (64-21-180) for the match, its highest percentage since September 3 against Samford.
• Gresham finished with a season-high 14 kills and 18 digs, while Spieker pitched in 15 kills and 10 digs for Loyola.
• Alex Nunez produced a career-best 30 digs, becoming the first Rambler to record 30 or more digs since Maddy Moser totaled 33 against Wake Forest on September 3, 2016.
• Erica Haslag led Bradley with 23 kills and 13 digs, while Kathryn Graf added 18 kills and seven blocks.

 
Up Next
Loyola returns home next weekend when it faces Evansville (Oct. 13) and Indiana State (Oct. 14).