MANHATTAN, Kan. (September 10, 2021)
 
In Short
A valiant comeback fell just short as Loyola University Chicago (6-3) saw its five-match winning streak come to a halt with a 19-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-20, 8-15 loss to host Kansas State (5-2) at the K-State Invitational Friday night. The Ramblers nearly pulled off their first true-road win over a Power 5 conference opponent since 2016 thanks in large part to a career night from sophomore outside hitter Karlie McNabb.
 
How It Happened
Loyola scored three straight points, including a kill from Addie Barnes and a block from Taylor Venuto, midway through set one, to seize an albeit brief, 15-13 lead. Unfortunately for the Ramblers, that advantage was short-lived and an 8-1 Wildcats surge that featured six Loyola hitting errors put K-State ahead for good, at 21-16, on the way to a 25-17 win.
 
Kansas State strung together a 5-1 run late in the second set to claim a 22-18 lead, but Loyola would answer back, tallying the next three scores to draw within a single point, at 22-21. However, the Wildcats closed out a 25-21 victory by rolling off the next three points, the final two coming on back-to-back service aces courtesy of Mackenzie Morris.
 
Riding the hot hand of Emily Banitt, who tallied four kills during a set-opening, 15-8 run, Loyola held off a Wildcat rally to keep the match alive with a 25-21 victory. K-State roared back from that seven-point hole and closed within a point on a couple of occasions, the last one coming at 17-16, but consecutive Wildcat attack errors and a kill from McNabb gave the Ramblers some breathing room and pushed the lead to 20-16. Kansas State cut the gap to 23-21 late, but a kill and a block by Barnes closed out the win.
 
That victory in set three brought the Ramblers' attack to life as they hit a blistering .447 (19-2-38) to earn a 25-20 decision in the fourth set to draw even in the match. An Anna Feldkamp kill and a Feldkamp/Venuto block were part of three straight scores that put Loyola ahead to stay at 10-7, and the Ramblers would eventually expand their lead to five points. Each time K-State mounted a comeback, Loyola was able to fend off the Wildcats and after the Ramblers' advantage was trimmed to 22-20, Banitt, Kelsey Watson and Barnes ripped three straight kills to finish off the hosts and force a fifth set.
 
Loyola's comeback bid fell short in the fifth set, however. After jumping out to a 3-2 lead, the Ramblers watched K-State tally the next three points to seize a 5-3 edge it would never surrender on its way to a 15-8 decision to take the match. Later, a Feldkamp kill would get the Maroon and Gold within 10-7, but four straight Wildcat points ran the K-State lead to 14-7.
 
A Look at the Numbers

• McNabb entered tonight's match with 12 career kills to her credit, but came off the bench to blast 15 kills and add 10 digs, while hitting .256 (15-5-39), in the first extended action of her collegiate career.
• Barnes put up another double-double, matching McNabb for team-high honors with 15 kills, while pitching in 18 digs, and Banitt (12 kills) and Venuto (10 kills, 6 blocks) also reached double-digit kills.
• Jenna Appel (25 assists, 10 digs) and Lane Jenkins (29 assists, 10 digs) joined Barnes and McNabb in the double-double club produced, and Grace Hinchman notched a team-best 19 digs. 
• Holly Bonde paced Kansas State with 18 kills, and Aliyah Carter added 17 kills and 18 digs.
• Barnes and Banitt were named to the K-State Invitational All-Tournament Team along with Tria McLean (Ohio), Amaria Kelley (Fresno State), Kadye Fernholz (Kansas State) and Aliyah Carter (Kansas State - MVP).

 
Up Next
Loyola competes in the annual Chicago Cup, which features local rivals DePaul, Northwestern and UIC, in Evanston, September 17 and 18. The Ramblers open the two-day event next Friday when they battle DePaul at 4 p.m. CT.