Boxscore (PDF)
CHICAGO (September 22, 2017)
In Short
Gabi Maciagowski was one of three Loyola University Chicago players to tally 10 or more kills, but it wasn't enough as visiting Drake (11-3, 1-0 MVC) earned a 25-19, 22-25, 25-13, 26-24 victory tonight at Gentile Arena in the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both teams. With the loss, Loyola slips to 1-11 overall and 0-1 in MVC play.
How It Happened
Everything went right for Drake in the early going in set one as the Bulldogs sprinted out to a 13-3 lead before the Ramblers were able to slowly chip away at the deficit. A
Morgan Gresham kill, followed by a
Delilah Wolf service ace, brought Loyola within 22-17, but it would get no closer than five points the rest of the way as Drake claimed a 25-19 victory.
Loyola got off to a solid start in set two, scoring five unanswered points to turn a two-point hole into a 6-3 advantage. A kill from
Quinn Spieker capped an 8-2 Rambler run that gave Loyola its largest lead of the night at 18-10, but Drake roared back to slice the host's lead to 24-22. Undeterred, Loyola righted itself and picked up a 25-22 win as Spieker and
Elle Van Grinsven teamed up to turn away a Natalie Fry attack for set point.
In set three, the Bulldogs, who hit .370 (11-1-27) in the set, used an 8-1 run to break open the contest and take a 15-6 lead they would never relinquish en route to a 25-13 victory.
The Ramblers led by as many as four points in the fourth set, the last coming on a Gresham kill that made it 15-11, but Drake tallied four straight points to even the set at 15. From there, the teams went back and forth with neither leading by more than two points. Van Grinsven drew Loyola even at 24 with a kill, but a Rambler service error, followed by a Drake block thwarted LU's attempt at forcing a fifth and deciding set.
A Look At The Numbers
- Maciagowski led Loyola with 12 kills, her most since tallying 13 against Samford on September 3, and added nine digs.
- Van Grinsven chipped in a season-high 11 kills, while Spieker added 10 stops.
- Wolf notched her first double-double of the season with 41 assists and 12 digs.
- Cathryn Cheek tallied 21 kills to lead Drake and she received plenty of backing from Kyla Inderski, who notched 17 kills and 19 digs.
Up Next
Loyola hosts No. 22 UNI tomorrow night at 7 p.m. The Panthers picked up a 3-1 victory at Valparaiso tonight.
