Boxscore (PDF)

In Short
Loyola took care of business on the road against Southern Illinois (5-25, 1-16 MVC), sweeping the Salukis, 25-18, 25-20, 25-19, to improve to 16-13 (8-9 MVC). The Ramblers had two players crack double-digit kills, while Delilah Wolf posted 42 assists to guide a .288 attack.
 
How It Happened
After the opening frame saw back-and-forth action early, Loyola went on a 3-0 run to go up 12-7 behind kills from Gabi Maciagowski and Quinn Spieker. SIU responded with a 5-1 run to narrow the deficit to one, but Maciagowski put an end to any Saluki momentum with another kill to get things back on track to the tune of a 16-14 lead. 
 
Elle Van Grinsven made a late-set impact with back-to-back kills that extended the lead to 19-14. With the five-point cushion, Loyola finished the job and took the first set to strike first in the best-of-five contest.
 
After falling behind 6-3 in the second stanza, Loyola battled back to tie it at 10-10 on a Heather Kocken kill. The Maroon and Gold went punch-for-punch with SIU in the middle stages of the set, with Loyola never holding more than a two-point lead before the 20-point mark. At 20-19, the Ramblers exploded on a 5-1 run with all five points coming via block or kill to take a commanding 2-0 match lead. 
 
Maciagowski led a blistering start to the third set with three kills to guide Loyola to a 6-2 lead. However, a hiccup on the Ramblers' part allowed SIU to come back and tie it at 10-10, and extend its momentum to a 7-0 run to go up 14-10. Not using a timeout, head coach Amanda Berkley's squad stopped the bleeding by countering with a 9-2 run to retake the lead at 19-16. After extending the lead to 21-18, Loyola went for the throat and finished with another 5-1 run to finish strong again, this time taking the third set, 25-19, for a 3-0 sweep of Southern Illinois.
 
A Look At The Numbers
- Wolf's 42 assists is tied for her second most this season in a three-set match.
- Van Grinsven's six kills pushed her over 250 for the season.
- Morgan Gresham tied with Spieker for the team lead with 11 kills versus SIU tonight, giving her 204 on the season. The Ramblers now have five players on the roster with 200 or more this season.
- Loyola swept the season series vs. Southern Illinois, the third MVC opponent to fall victim to the aforementioned stat.
 
Up Next
Loyola closes out the regular season at Missouri State in Saturday (Nov. 17) at 7 p.m. A victory over the Bears would lock up a berth in next week's Missouri Valley Conference Championship.​