Boxscore

CHICAGO (November 1, 2019)
 
In Short
After an emotional week following the passing of former Loyola University Chicago men's volleyball player Dane Leclair, the Loyola women's volleyball squad rolled to a 25-18, 25-16, 25-15 victory over Evansville (14-8, 5-9 MVC) tonight at Gentile Arena. With the win, the Ramblers improved to 16-8 overall and 9-2 in Missouri Valley Conference play, equaling the program record for Valley wins (9).
 
How It Happened
Loyola took control of the opening set thanks to a string of seven unanswered points that included two kills and a block assist from Quinn Spieker, as the Ramblers claimed an 11-5 lead and never looked back on the way to a 25-18 victory. Leading by as many as nine points in the set, Loyola was able to hold off a late Purple Aces rally that brought the visitors within 21-17. At that point, Spieker took over posting back-to-back kills, then added another before an Elle Van Grinsven block finished out the set.
 
The Ramblers hit .359 (18-4-39) in set two, coming back from a three-point deficit early on. A kill from Heather Kocken was followed by an Aces error and a Kocken/Van Grinsven block that snapped a 11-11 stalemate and put Loyola on top for good. Later in the set, Addie Barnes drilled a pair of kills in a 7-2 spurt that turned a two-point Loyola lead into a comfortable 21-14 advantage and the Ramblers would go on to collect a 25-16 win.
 
Another big Ramblers run helped propel the Maroon and Gold to a 25-15 decision in the third set. Trailing by just a point (4-3), Loyola recorded five consecutive tallies, two coming on kills from Van Grinsven, to take hold of an 8-4 lead it would never surrender. That 5-0 spurt was part of a larger 11-3 run that stretched Loyola's lead to 14-7 and it would breeze to a 25-15 victory to earn its fifth win in the last six outings at Gentile Arena.
 
A Look At The Numbers

• Barnes was her steady self yet again, accumulating team highs of 13 kills and 15 digs for her 13^thdouble-double of the year.
• Spieker had a solid effort, totaling nine kills and eight digs, while Kocken recorded eight kills, a half-dozen blocks, and hit .50 (8-0-16).
• Van Grinsven pitched in seven kills and four blocks, and Taylor Venuto contributed six kills and six blocks to aid in Loyola matching its win total from all of last season (16).
• As a team, Loyola racked up 11 blocks, which helped neutralize the outside hitter tandem of Rachel Tam and Melanie Feliciano, who hit a combined -.019 (9-10-53).

 
Up Next
Loyola wraps up the weekend tomorrow afternoon when it hosts Indiana State, which dropped a three-set affair at Valparaiso tonight. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT.