CARBONDALE, Ill. (February 7, 2021)
 
In Short
Senior middle blocker Elle Van Grinsven had a match-high 10 kills and added four blocks as Loyola University Chicago (3-1, 2-1 MVC) bounced back from its first loss of the year to earn to a 25-22, 25-13, 25-17 victory at Southern Illinois (1-4, 0-3 MVC) this afternoon at Davies Gym. Dating back to the 2019 campaign, the Ramblers have won six of their last eight road matches in Missouri Valley Conference play and they are off to just their third 3-1 start to a season since 1996 and first since 2012.
 
How It Happened
Van Grinsven blasted six kills on seven swings in the opening set alone to power Loyola to a 25-22 victory. With the score deadlocked at 16-16, back-to-back Salukis attack errors put Loyola ahead to stay and the Ramblers had an answer each time SIU got within a point. Totum Tornatta's kill trimmed Loyola's advantage to 23-22 and gave Southern Illinois hopes of a comeback, but a Salukis error and a kill from Anna Feldkamp allowed the Ramblers to close out the win.
 
SIU jumped out to a 7-5 lead in set two only to see Loyola run off five unanswered scores to seize a 10-7 lead they would never relinquish. In fact, that string of five consecutive points was part of a larger 11-2 run that gave the Ramblers control of the set on the way to an easy 25-13 victory. Loyola's attack was efficient, hitting at a .429 (15-3-28) clip, in set two.
 
Feldkamp and Kelsey Watson combined for seven kills in Loyola's 25-17 victory in the third set to give the Maroon and Gold its first three-set win of 2021. Three kills from Feldkamp played a pivotal role in a set-opening 11-5 Ramblers run, but SIU roared back and chopped the deficit to 14-13, only to have Sarah Murczek record a kill to ignite a decisive 7-1 stretch that allowed Loyola's lead to swell to 21-14. 
 
A Look at the Numbers

• Van Grinsven was one of three Ramblers to hit over .450 on the day, finishing with a .500 hitting percentage (10-1-18).
• Feldkamp contributed nine kills, hitting a team-high .562 (9-0-16), while Watson had her best outing as a Rambler, racking up eight kills and hitting at a .462 (8-2-13) rate.
• Emily Banitt totaled six kills, 12 digs and a pair of aces and Jenna Appel notched 32 assists, four blocks and three kills for a Loyola unit that hit .290 (43-14-100) as a team.
• Tornatta paced the Saluki with six kills.
• Loyola is 16-5 in its last 21 MVC regular-season matches.

 
Up Next
Tomorrow afternoon, the Ramblers and Salukis finish out the two-match set. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT.