Boxscore (PDF) 

CHICAGO (November 3, 2017)
 
In Short
Morgan Gresham pounded out 13 kills and Heather Kocken added 10 as Loyola University Chicago rallied to defeat Bradley (9-19, 2-12 MVC), 25-16, 21-25, 12-25, 25-17, 15-9, tonight at Gentile Arena. The win, Loyola's second straight, bumps the Ramblers to 3-21 overall and 2-11 in Missouri Valley Conference action.
 
How It Happened
Kocken spearheaded Loyola's 25-16 victory in the opener, setting the tone by drilling seven of her 10 kills on the night. The Ramblers were clinging to a one-point advantage until Kocken's fourth kill of the set kicked off a 7-0 Loyola run that gave the hosts a 15-7 lead they would never relinquish. Loyola hit a stellar .323 (14-4-31) in the first set, while Bradley managed to hit at a -.114 (6-10-35) rate of efficiency.
 
The Braves darted out to an 11-2 lead in set two before the Ramblers picked themselves up off the mat and countered with a 10-1 run of their own, that featured three kills from Gresham, to even the match at 12. But, back-to-back kills from Erica Haslag and Kathryn Graf put Bradley back on top to stay as it held on for a 25-21 victory to even the match at a set apiece.
 
Set three was all Braves. Loyola grabbed an early 2-1 lead but then saw Bradley reel off seven consecutive points and never look back on the way to a 25-12 decision.
 
Loyola showed its mettle in set four, putting together arguably its best effort of the night, hitting .409 (12-3-22) to pick up a 25-17 win. A pair of kills from Gabi Maciagowski and two aces served up by Delilah Wolf, comprised a 4-0 Loyola surge that snapped a 9-9 stalemate and put the Ramblers ahead for good, at 13-9. Bradley closed within a point, at 18-17, but Quinn Spieker swung momentum right back Loyola's way with a kill, then added back-to-back aces following another stop from Gresham, as the hosts opened up a 22-17 edge.
 
The fifth and deciding set was tightly contested until the midway point. Loyola led 9-6, but consecutive Braves tallies chopped the advantage to a single point. Undeterred, Maciagowski crushed a kill coming out of a timeout to ignite a set-closing 6-1 run that sent Loyola home victorious for the second match in a row.
 
A Look At The Numbers

• Kocken wound up hitting .333 (10-4-18) on the night, while Gresham added seven digs, a pair of aces, and two blocks to her team-high 13 kills.
• Spieker narrowly missed out on a double-double, totaling nine kills, 13 digs and four aces.
• Alex Nunez notched a match-high 19 digs to lead the Rambler defensive effort.
• Haslag paced Bradley with 14 kills and 18 digs.

 
Up Next
Loyola is back in action tomorrow night when it hosts Illinois State at 7 p.m.