Game Notes (PDF)
CHICAGO (September 11, 2017) - A busy week awaits Loyola as it opens the final week of non-conference play by hosting DePaul Tuesday night. The Ramblers will wrap up the weekend by competing in the Stacey Clark Classic in West Lafayette, Indiana, where they will face Miami (Ohio) and No. 15 Purdue. The last time Loyola started a season 1-7 (2005), it went to the NCAA Tournament. In its lone win of the season, a four-set decision over Samford, Loyola hit a sizzling .359 (57-10-131), its best mark since October 24, 2015. However, in its seven setbacks this fall, the Ramblers are hitting just .105 (237-156-768).
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
DePaul has dropped its last three matches and one of its losses this season was to Loyola's Missouri Valley Conference rival, Indiana State. The Blue Demons are led by junior right side Brittany Maxwell, who is averaging 3.31 kills per set, while hitting .222 (96-36-270) this season. As a team, DePaul is hitting just .190. Loyola has dominated the all-time series, holding a 30-11 advantage, but DePaul prevailed in the last meeting between the teams, winning the 2016 season opener 25-21, 21-25, 25-23, 25-17 in DeKalb, Illinois.
Loyola and Miami (Ohio) will be meeting for the first time since August 31, 1997, when the RedHawks earned a 15-9, 15-11, 15-11 victory in Gainesville, Florida. Nevertheless, the Ramblers lead the all-time series, 2-1. Miami is 7-4 overall this year and has won its last three matches, including a five-set victory over South Carolina. A balanced attack that features three players with over 100 kills is paced by Margaret Payne (2.78 kills per set), who is hitting .345.
The Ramblers and Boilermakers will be meeting for the first time since 1992 and Purdue has won both of its previous meetings with Loyola. Danielle Cuttino sets the tone for Purdue, averaging 4.00 kills per set, while hitting at a highly efficient .385 (124-30-244) clip. As a team, Purdue is hitting .354, a mark that leads all NCAA Division I programs. Loyola is seeking its first win against a Big Ten Conference foe since a 3-1 victory over Northwestern on August 29, 2008.
MO BETTER
Morgan Gresham is having a breakthrough season for the Ramblers and enters this week's action as the team leader with 66 total kills (2.36 per set), while ranking third on the club with 60 digs (2.14 per set). The junior outside hitter entered the 2017 season with only 68 career kills to her credit but has nearly equaled that total through eight matches this fall.
The Wildwood, Missouri native has crushed nine or more kills in each of the last five matches, three times reaching double figures. She recorded a career-high 13 kills against Fairfield on September 1 and notched her first double-double since her collegiate debut on August 28, 2015, when she accounted for 10 kills and 15 digs in a victory over Samford on September 3.
In three matches at home this season, Gresham is averaging 2.91 kills and 2.73 digs per set, while hitting .218 (32-13-87). She is coming off of a nine-kill, three-dig effort in a loss to No. 13 Kentucky on September 9.
UP NEXT
Loyola opens Missouri Valley Conference action next weekend when it hosts Drake (Sept. 22) and UNI (Sept. 23).
