NOTRE DAME, Ind. (August 27, 2021)
 
In Short
Taylor Venuto smashed a team-high 15 kills and added six blocks to power Loyola University Chicago (1-0) to a 25-22, 15-25, 25-19, 25-20 victory over Oakland (0-2) this afternoon on the opening day of play at the Golden Dome Invitational hosted by the University of Notre Dame. The Ramblers have now won each of their last two season openers.
 
How It Happened
Kills from Anna Feldkamp and Olivia Lovett, along with a Kelsey Watson/Lovett block, were part of a decisive run of four unanswered points that broke a 15-15 stalemate and gave Loyola a 19-15 advantage in the opening set. Later, with the Ramblers in possession of a 22-18 edge, Oakland used a 4-1 spurt to cut the gap to 23-22, but a kill from freshman Esma Ajanovic preceded a Golden Grizzlies attack error that allowed Loyola to claim a 25-22 decision.
 
Oakland drew the match even at a set apiece thanks to a 25-15 victory in the second set, fueled by a hot-hitting attack that posted a .389 (17-3-36) hitting percentage. The Golden Grizzlies scored the set's first three tallies and never looked back and although Loyola closed within 7-6, Oakland would rattle off six of the next seven points to push its lead to 13-7.
 
After falling behind 5-3 early in the third set, Loyola turned things around behind a string of six unanswered points that included kills from Lovett, Venuto and Sarah Murczek, to claim a 9-5 lead it would never relinquish. Oakland sliced the deficit to three, at 11-8, but a Murczek service ace and another kill courtesy of Venuto highlighted a 5-1 spurt that ran the Ramblers' advantage to 16-9 and they would roll to a 25-19 victory, hitting .244 (15-5-41) for the set.
 
The Golden Grizzlies opened set four with three consecutive scores before Loyola countered with five straight tallies of its own, including a kill and an ace from Murczek. With the score deadlocked at 9-9, Murczek sparked a decisive stretch for the Ramblers, ripping a pair of kills as Loyola grabbed a 13-10 lead. Oakland cut the gap to 16-14, only to see Lovett serve up a couple of ace, while Venuto hammered a kill and added a pair of blocks to all but decide the outcome as Loyola's lead swelled to 21-14 on the way to a 25-20 victory. The Ramblers put together their most efficient set of the day in set four, hitting at a sizzling .394 (14-1-33) clip.
 
A Look at the Numbers

• In addition to Venuto's outstanding performance in the opener, Murczek picked up where she left off last season, registering 11 kills, nine digs and two aces.
• Lovett had a solid collegiate debut, notching a double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs and Paige Kaufman tallied a career-best 21 digs.
• Feldkamp finished with eight kills and hit .400 (8-2-15) on the afternoon as head coach Amanda Berkley collected her 49^thvictory at Loyola.
• Sophomore setter Jenna Appel also recorded a double-double, doling out 32 assists, while pitching in 10 digs.
• Jamie Walling led Oakland with 19 kills.

 
Up Next
The Ramblers continue play at the Golden Dome Invitational tomorrow when they face No. 16 Western Kentucky at noon CT and No. 25 Notre Dame at 6 p.m. CT.