Boxscore
VALPARAISO, Ind. (October 25, 2019)
In Short
Taylor Venuto produced 14 kills and two other Ramblers reached double digits as Loyola University Chicago (15-8, 8-2 MVC) rebounded from a tough loss to Missouri Valley Conference leader UNI earlier in the week to earn a 25-19, 25-21, 25-20 victory over Valparaiso (8-15, 3-6 MVC) tonight at the Athletics-Recreation Center. Loyola has now won six of its last seven true road matches and is one win shy of matching not only its overall win total from last season (16), but also a program record for Valley wins (9).
How It Happened
Loyola overcame an early four-point deficit to capture a 25-19 decision in the first set. With their team trailing, 12-10,
Addie Barnes and
Taylor Venuto smacked two kills apiece to provide the firepower in a string of five unanswered points that put the Ramblers ahead to stay, at 15-12. Back-to-back Crusaders points sliced the Loyola advantage to a point, but a pair of blocks were part of a 3-0 spurt that gave the Ramblers breathing room. After Valpo closed within two (19-17), Loyola finished off the set on a 6-2 run, featuring a pair of stops from
Heather Kocken, to earn the 25-19 win.
A run of four unanswered points allowed the Crusaders to take hold of a 17-15 lead in set two, however, that lead wouldn't hold up for long. A kill and ensuing service ace from
Quinn Spieker were followed by a pair of kills and a block assist from
Elle Van Grinsven in a game-changing 6-0 spurt that gave Loyola the lead for good on the way to a 25-21 victory.
A quick start helped Loyola take an early 5-1 lead and once Valpo got within 8-7, Barnes notched two kills during a decisive 6-0 run that expanded the Ramblers' advantage to 14-7 in the third set. That lead grew to as many as eight points (19-11) before the Crusaders tried to mount a rally. A 9-3 Valpo run sliced Loyola's lead to 22-20, but a timeout settled the Ramblers, who regrouped and reeled off the final three points to take a 25-20 decision and sweep the match.
A Look At The Numbers
- Venuto finished the night hitting .722 (14-1-18) and added five blocks and three digs, while Kocken hit .529 (10-1-17) and pitched in four blocks.
- Barnes delivered another double-double performance with 10 kills and 10 digs to go with three rejections and Spieker fell just shy of a double-double herself, finishing with eight kills and nine digs.
- Freshman setter Katie Mather distributed 24 assists and also pitched in a half dozen digs and a pair of service aces.
- Valpo hit just .103 (31-19-117) for the match and got a team-best 13 kills from Ally Cummings.
Up Next
Loyola is back at home next weekend when it will entertain Evansville (Nov. 1) and Indiana State (Nov. 2) at Gentile Arena.
