Boxscore 

NORMAL, Ill. (October 18, 2019)
 
In Short
Heather Kocken crushed a match-high 12 kills and Taylor Venuto added 10, but Loyola University Chicago (13-7, 6-1 MVC) had its six-match win streak come to an end as Illinois State (12-7, 5-2 MVC) rallied to record a 19-25, 25-19, 25-13, 26-24 victory tonight at Redbird Arena. The loss prevents the Ramblers from matching their 7-0 league start in 2001.
 
How It Happened
Buoyed by a combined nine kills from Elle Van Grinsven (5) and Heather Kocken (4), Loyola breezed to a 25-19 victory in the opener. The Ramblers set the tone early, racing out to a 7-1 lead, using a kill and a block from Kocken and aces from Addie Barnes and Maddy Moser, to fuel that set-opening spurt. After the host Redbirds closed within four points, at 12-8, Loyola strung together a 7-2 run that featured a pair of stop from Van Grinsven to open up a 20-11 lead and did not allow ISU to get within five points from that point forward.
 
Using a 4-0 burst early in the second set, Illinois State erased a one-point Loyola edge and claimed a 5-2 lead it would never relinquish. The Ramblers would work their way back within a point on a handful of occasions, the last coming when Taylor Venuto's kill trimmed the deficit to 10-9, but the Redbirds had an answer each time, and following Venuto's stop, rattled off three straight scores to open up a 13-9 advantage on their way to a 25-19 decision.
 
Loyola held an 8-6 lead in set three, but the action turned when Illinois State ran off nine unanswered points to take hold of a comfortable 15-8 edge and didn't look back on the way to a 25-13 win. The Ramblers weren't able to get much to go right after that early two-point advantage, hitting -.037 (6-7-27) in the set.
 
Venuto helped spearhead a late Loyola rally in the fourth set, notching two kills during a run of four unanswered tallies that allowed the Ramblers overcome a two-point hole and capture a 22-20 lead. That advantage would grow to 24-21, with Loyola serving set point. However, the Redbirds would come back to life and close things out with a 5-0 run to escape with a 26-24 victory that halted Loyola's six-match win streak.
 
A Look At The Numbers

• After hitting .275 (16-5-40) in the opening set, Loyola posted a .076 (31-23-105) attack efficiency the remainder of the match.
• Katie Mather registered her sixth double-double of the year with 27 assists and 11 digs and Moser, who was playing in front of a hometown crowd for the final time in her illustrious career, totaled 13 digs.
• Kaylee Martin led Illinois State with 11 kills and five service aces.

 
Up Next
Loyola continues a busy stretch of matches when it visits Bradley tomorrow at 5 p.m.