NORMAL, Ill. (October 15, 2021)
 
In Short
Despite 12 kills from junior outside hitter Addie Barnes, Loyola University Chicago (13-6, 6-1 MVC) suffered its first loss in Missouri Valley Conference play this season, dropping a tight 26-24, 17-25, 25-19, 25-23 decision to host Illinois State (8-11, 4-3 MVC) tonight at Redbird Arena. The loss breaks the Ramblers' six-match winning streak and Loyola has now tumbled in each of its last 12 meetings with Illinois State.
 
How It Happened
Set one was a back-and-forth battle ultimately won by the host Redbirds, 26-24. Illinois State scored three of the first four points of the match to grab the early lead and was able to hold off every Loyola rally until late in the set. Trailing 18-15, the Ramblers got a kill and an ace from Barnes during a stretch of four unanswered scores to claim a short-lived 19-18 advantage. Later, back-to-back kills from Anna Feldkamp and Emily Banitt provided the Ramblers with their largest edge of the set, at 22-20, but Illinois State closed out the set with a 6-2 run to claim the victory.
 
Seven straight Loyola points wiped away an early two-point deficit and put the Ramblers in control of set two, 8-3. Kelsey Watson had a hand in three of those seven points, tallying a kill and a pair of blocks. After Illinois State crept within 11-9, the Ramblers spun off five unanswered points, the final three of which came on consecutive blocks from Taylor Venuto and Feldkamp, to run their advantage to 16-9, and Loyola was never threatened from there on the way to a 25-17 decision.
 
Illinois State tallied eight consecutive tallies midway through the third set, turning a one-point lead into a commanding 23-14 advantage. Loyola tried to fight its way back into the set, sandwiching kills from Watson and Karlie McNabb around a Barnes ace during a 4-0 burst that whittled the deficit to 23-18, but that was as close as the Ramblers would get in a 25-19 setback.
 
A hot start propelled the Redbirds to an 8-2 lead early in the fourth set, but Loyola was able to chip away and a 5-0 spurt, punctuated by consecutive kills from McNabb, put the Ramblers ahead for an albeit brief period, at 17-16. Loyola trailed 23-22 when Watson and Barnes paired up for a block that knotted the score, only to see Sarah Kushner rip back-to-back kills to give the hosts a 25-23 victory.
 
A Look at the Numbers

• Barnes accounted for a team-high 12 kills and she added 11 digs, four aces and three blocks to lead the Ramblers, who also received 10 kills and six digs from McNabb.
• Watson was solid, clubbing a eight kills, her most since September 17, while adding four blocks, and Venuto provided eight blocks, four digs, two aces and three kills.
• Tamara Otene led four Illinois State players who recorded 10 or more kills, racking up 12 stops.

 
Up Next
Loyola will attempt to get back on the winning track tomorrow when it visits Bradley at 5 p.m. CT.