Boxscore (PDF)

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (September 8, 2018)
 
In Short
Quinn Spieker totaled 11 kills to lead a pack of five players that accounted for eight or more stops as Loyola University Chicago rallied to record an 18-25, 25-21, 25-17, 28-26 victory over Canisius Saturday afternoon at the Delta Hotel by Marriott Kalamazoo Conference Center Tournament. With the win, the Ramblers extended their winning streak to seven matches, their longest since 2015, and improved to 7-2 on the season. Heather Kocken was named to the all-tournament team as Loyola's lone representative.
 
How It Happened
The first set was a game of runs, but unfortunately for the Ramblers, Canisius went on the final one to earn a 25-18 victory. The Golden Griffins put together four unanswered points to open up a 12-8 lead before Loyola called a timeout and then responded with a 7-1 run, which featured two kills from Spieker, to grab a 15-13 advantage. Following a Canisius timeout, though, a Sara Wesley kill ignited an 11-3 set-closing run that put the Ramblers in a 1-0 hole in the match.
 
Loyola trailed by a point early, but a kill from Lexi Alden and back-to-back services aces from Elle Van Grinsven gave the Ramblers the lead for good, at 11-9, in the second set. A few points later, Spieker took over for a brief stretch, accounting for three straight Ramblers kills that pushed Loyola's lead to 19-15. After Canisius rallied to slice the deficit to 20-19, Delilah Wolf and Kocken teamed up to turn away a Griffs attack and Kocken followed with a kill that ran the advantage back to three points. Kocken would go on finish off the set with a kill for a 25-21 Loyola win made possible largely by a torrid offensive attack that hit a staggering .441 (16-1-34).
 
The Ramblers trailed 9-8 in set three before mounting a rally that featured four unanswered points, which was highlighted by a kill and a solo block from Van Grinsven, to reclaim the lead for good, at 12-9. Five consecutive points salted away the victory for Loyola as it turned a four-point advantage into a comfortable 22-14 lead on its way to a 25-17 victory. 
 
Loyola had to overcome a three-point deficit and go the extra mile in set four, rallying for a 28-26 victory and their seventh straight match win. Lauren Caprini served up a pair of aces as part of a 6-1 Ramblers run that erased a 13-10 Golden Griffins lead and put Loyola on top, 16-14. That lead would grow to 24-21 on a Kocken block, but Canisius would stun the Ramblers by registering four straight tallies to take hold of a 25-24 edge. However, Loyola showcased its resilience by rebounding to post four of the set's final five points, closing the proceedings with another ace from Caprini, for the win.
 
A Look At The Numbers

• Alden and Gabi Maciagowski racked up nine kills apiece, while Kocken and Van Grinsen tallied eight kills each for the Ramblers, who hit .257 (49-13-140) for the match.
• Wolf continued her impressive play, accounting for 42 assists, seven digs, four blocks and a pair of service aces. 
• Loyola totaled 12 aces on the day, led by four each from Caprini and Van Grinsven.
• Camila Vazquez led Canisius with a match-high 15 kills.
• Kocken was named to the all-tournament team.

 
Up Next
The Ramblers return home next weekend to host the Chicago Cup, which features area teams DePaul, Northwestern and UIC. Loyola's first opponent in the tournament is DePaul on September 14 at 7 p.m.