Boxscore

CHICAGO (October 11, 2019)
 
In Short
Heather Kocken delivered a team-high 15 kills and added seven blocks to lead a surging Loyola University Chicago (12-6, 5-0 MVC) women's volleyball squad to a 25-18, 23-25, 25-20, 25-17 victory over Southern Illinois (10-9, 2-3 MVC) tonight at Gentile Arena. The win is the Ramblers' fifth in a row and ninth in their last 10 contests.
 
How It Happened
A string of seven unanswered points that included three kills and a block from Sarah Murczek, who was celebrating her birthday, in set one helped Loyola turn a two-point deficit into a 10-5 lead it would never let slip away. Southern Illinois trimmed the Ramblers' lead to 13-12, but the hosts then rattled off four consecutive tallies to extend their lead to 17-12 on the way to a 25-18 decision. 
 
Southern Illinois got off to a hot start, grabbing an early 7-3 advantage, and led by as many as five points (10-5) before Loyola chipped away. Elle Van Grinsven recorded three kills and Addie Barnes added a pair of stops, with her last capping an 11-6 run that evened the second set at 16-16. The Salukis countered with four straight scores to reclaim the lead, but the Ramblers responded with four unanswered points of their own to tie the score yet again at 20-20. Back-to-back SIU points broke a 22-22 tie and Loyola wasn't able to overcome that deficit in a 25-23 setback.
 
Loyola used a quick start to establish control of set three. Scoring the first five points of the set, the opening two on Kocken kills, the Ramblers got some early breathing room as they rolled to a 25-20 victory. The Ramblers would lead by as many as eight points until the Salukis rallied late to cut the deficit, however the veteran duo of Kocken and Quinn Spieker, who tallied five kills apiece in the set, would prove too much for SIU to overcome.
 
With the benefit of another quick strike at the outset, Loyola seized momentum in the fourth set, en route to picking up a 25-17 victory. Consecutive Rambler blocks opened up the fourth-set scoring and the Maroon and Gold added two more points before SIU got on the board. That Saluki tally failed to slow Loyola's momentum though as it then went on a 12-3 run that featured three Van Grinsven kills, and aces from Addie Barnes, Kayla Kraus and Spieker, to expand the lead to 16-4. SIU made things interesting late, getting within 19-16, but the Ramblers sealed the outcome as Kocken produced two kills and teamed with Van Grinsven on a block as part of a 5-0 spurt.
 
A Look At The Numbers

• Kocken's 15 kills were her most since totaling 15 in a win over Northwestern September 20. She finished tonight's match with an impressive .452 (15-1-31) hitting percentage.
• Barnes and Van Grinsven accounted for 11 kills each, with Barnes also contributing 13 digs and three aces.
• Spieker was impressive off the bench, tallying eight kills and six digs, while hitting .412 (8-1-17), and Maddy Moser pitched in 22 digs and eight assists.
• Savannah Sheridan led Southern Illinois with 15 kills.

 
Up Next
Loyola hosts Missouri State tomorrow at 4 p.m. A win would give Loyola its best start to conference play through six matches since 2001.