Boxscore

CHICAGO (September 21, 2019)
 
In Short
Four players delivered 10 or more kills, led by Addie Barnes with 15, as Loyola University Chicago (7-5) won its fourth straight match with a 25-15, 21-25, 26-24, 25-19 decision over host DePaul (8-3) at the Chicago Cup this afternoon. With the win, the Ramblers have a chance to earn a weekend sweep of their city rivals when they face UIC later today.
 
How It Happened
Showing no signs of a letdown following last night's thrilling five-set victory over Northwestern, Loyola charged out of the gate in the opening set, scoring five of the first six points, two via kills from Taylor Venuto, and never was threatened on the way to a 25-15 victory. The Ramblers, who got four kills in the set from Heather Kocken, hit .343 (14-2-35) as team in the opener.
 
Loyola rode the hot hitting of Barnes and Sarah Murczek to get out to a 13-8 lead in set two before it saw that advantage quickly evaporate. DePaul mounted an impressive comeback, stringing together a 12-4 run to erase the Ramblers' five-point lead and grab a 20-17 advantage. A kill from Barnes and a Delilah Wolf block brought the Ramblers back within a single point (20-19), but DePaul closed out the set by recording five of the final seven points for a 25-21 decision.
 
The Ramblers bounced back from a tough loss by racing out to an 8-3 lead in the third set, with aces from Barnes and Maddy Moser highlighting the set-opening run. Loyola would expand its lead to as many as seven (15-8) and appeared in control until DePaul ran off a 13-6 run to draw even at 21-21. With the teams deadlocked at 24-24, Sarah Murczek hammered home her ninth kill of the match and followed it up with an ace to secure a 26-24 Loyola victory that gave it the match lead once again.
 
An Elle Van Grinsven kill and consecutive blocks from Venuto snapped a 5-5 stalemate and gave Loyola the lead for good, at 8-5, in set four. That advantage would swell to as many as four points (18-14) before the host Blue Demons marched back within a point at 18-17. That was when Barnes took over, sandwiching a pair of kills around a block to swing momentum back Loyola's way, and it went on to earn a 25-19 victory, hitting .445 (18-3-33) in the set.
 
A Look At The Numbers

• In addition to her match-high 15 kills, Barnes added eight digs for Loyola, which hit .305 (58-15-141) as a team. 
• Kocken banged out 12 kills, while Murczek totaled 11 kills, eight digs and a pair of aces.
• Van Grinsven continued her solid play of late, contributing 10 kills and six digs, while Venuto pitched in seven kills and five blocks.
• Freshman setter Katie Mather doled out 23 assists and racked up eight digs and a pair of aces.
• DePaul received a team-high 14 kills from Brittany Maxwell.

 
Up Next
Loyola takes on UIC today at 5:30 p.m., to close out play in the 2019 Chicago Cup.