Boxscore 

CHICAGO (September 7, 2019)
 
In Short
Four players totaled double-digit kills to lead Western Michigan (6-0) to a 25-21, 11-25, 25-17, 25-21 victory over Loyola University Chicago (3-4) this afternoon in the championship match of the Hampton Inn Rambler Challenge. The loss snaps the Ramblers' modest two-match winning streak.
 
How It Happened
Following a sluggish start that saw Western Michigan dart out to a 6-0 lead, Loyola righted the ship and rattled off seven unanswered points of its own to grab a short-lived 7-6 advantage. The Broncos countered Loyola's return punch with three straight scores of their own to reclaim the lead for good, at 9-7. Loyola's deficit reached five points (17-12) on a Maggie King kill, but the Ramblers crept back into the contest thanks to a 5-1 spurt that included two kills each from Addie Barnes and Heather Kocken, to close within 18-17. However, WMU accounted for four of the next five points in the set to regain control on its way to a 25-21 victory.
 
Barnes and Taylor Venuto recorded nine kills total in the second set alone to power a Loyola attack that dominated from start to finish and hit at a .393 (14-3-38) clip in a 25-11 rout. A kill from Barnes broke a 5-5 tie and ignited a set-closing 20-6 onslaught that allowed the Ramblers to even the match at a set apiece.
 
An early 12-4 run gave Western Michigan control of the third set as it picked up a 25-17 victory to move ahead in the match, two sets to one. After falling behind 14-6, the Ramblers weren't able to work themselves any closer than five points the rest of the way and Western Michigan's potent attack that hit .455 (17-2-33) in the set was too much to overcome.
 
At the outset of set four, it appeared the match might be headed the distance when Loyola scored four unanswered points, two of which came on back-to-back combined blocks from Kocken and Venuto. WMU rallied, and then trailing 9-8, strung together five consecutive tallies to claim a 13-9 lead it would never surrender. Loyola trailed by as many as six points in the set, the last coming at 18-12, before chipping away and slicing the deficit to three (23-20), but would get no closer as the Broncos held on for a 25-21 win. 
 
A Look At The Numbers

• Addie Barnes and Taylor Venuto were named to the Hampton Inn Rambler Challenge All-Tournament Team along with Rachel Bontrager (Western Michigan – MVP), Maggie King (Western Michigan), Hannah Scott (Montana State) and Abby Hamilton (Loyola Maryland).
• Barnes walloped a season-high 17 kills and Venuto pitched in 12 stops and added five blocks for Loyola, which out-hit Western Michigan .263 to .231.
• Kocken contributed nine kills and three blocks and Quinn Spieker chipped in a team-high 16 digs.
• Maggie King and Willow Martin led a balanced Broncos attack with 12 kills each.

 
Up Next
Loyola gets back on the road next weekend when it travels west to compete in the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic hosted by the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, September 13-14. The Ramblers open play at the tournament Friday when they take on Virginia Tech.