Boxscore (PDF)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (August 24, 2018)
 
In Short
Redshirt junior Heather Kocken matched a career high with 14 kills and Loyola University Chicago showed a tremendous amount of heart, staging several spirited comebacks before ultimately coming up short in a 21-25, 25-23, 26-28, 17-25 loss to Samford (2-0) tonight at the Courtyard by Marriott Samford Invitational. The loss drops Loyola to 0-2 on the season.
 
How It Happened
After the Ramblers staked claim to a two-point advantage courtesy of back-to-back kills from Quinn Spieker and Elle Van Grinsven, the host Bulldogs accounted for seven of the next nine points in set one to take possession of a 20-17 lead and assume control of the proceedings. Loyola was unable to get closer than two points the rest of the way as it saw Samford hold on for a 25-22 win.
 
Morgan Gresham helped Loyola dart out to an early edge in the second set, recording a kill along with three aces, to propel the visitors to a commanding 7-1 lead. But, after a timeout that slowed the Ramblers' momentum, Samford charged back and hung seven unanswered points on the scoreboard for its first lead of the set, at 8-7. The Ramblers appeared to pull away thanks to a 10-3 run, which featured four Van Grinsven kills, a little later in the set, but the Bulldogs staged another stunning comeback, reeling off seven straight tallies to tie the score at 20. 
 
After Loyola reclaimed the lead on a block by Delilah Wolf and Kocken, Samford recorded two straight points to grab a 22-21 advantage. From there, however, Kocken almost single-handedly put the Ramblers on her back, slamming home three kills as part of a set-closing 4-1 run that gave Loyola a stirring 25-23 decision and evened the contest at a set apiece.
 
Samford sprinted to a 9-3 lead in set three and appeared to be in control midway through the action, holding a 16-10 edge. Loyola, which has shown plenty of fight in this very young season, picked itself up off the mat and slowly chipped away at the deficit. Trailing by a pair and faced with set point, the Ramblers ripped off three consecutive tallies on kills from Van Grinsven, Wolf and Gresham, to seize a 25-24 lead. The teams then exchanged points, with another Gresham stop putting Loyola on top, 26-25, but Krista Boesing drilled two kills as part of a 3-0 spurt that would provide Samford with a 28-26 victory.
 
Much like the third set, the Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead, putting the Ramblers in an 11-4 hole before Loyola worked its way back into contention. Consecutive Samford hitting errors ignited a 9-4 Loyola run that gave the Ramblers life and that surge was punctuated by a kill from Van Grinsven that cut the deficit to 15-13. However, the Bulldogs responded by recording five of the next six points to build their lead back up to six and never looked back en route to a 25-17 decision that gave them a 3-1 victory in the match.
 
A Look At The Numbers

• Kocken's 14 kills matched her previous career best, ironically enough, also set against Samford, one year ago in Chicago. 
• Gabi Maciagowski finished the evening with 12 kills, while Gresham notched her first double-double of the year with 10 kills and 11 digs, to go with three aces.
• On the defensive side,Alex Nunez (21 digs) and Spieker (14 digs) shined for the Ramblers, who totaled 67 digs on the night.
• Boesing led the way for Samford with a match-high 19 kills.

 
Up Next
Loyola looks for its first win of 2018 when it wraps up play at the Courtyard by Marriott Samford Invitational tomorrow by facing McNeese State. First serve is scheduled for noon CT.