EVANSTON, Ill. (September 17, 2021)
 
In Short
DePaul (5-5) rallied from a deficit in each set to secure a 27-25, 27-25, 28-26 victory over Loyola University Chicago (6-4) this afternoon in the opening match of the Chicago Cup at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The loss, the Ramblers' second straight, comes despite 11 kills from junior middle hitter Taylor Venuto.
 
How It Happened
Neither team led by more than two points in a closely contested first set that was eventually won by DePaul, 27-25. Back-to-back kills from Emily Banitt snapped a 19-19 stalemate and put the Ramblers on top, 21-19, but the Blue Demons rallied back, outscoring Loyola, 5-2 over the next seven points to grab a 24-23 lead. An Anna Feldkamp kill knotted things back up at 24-24 but after the teams traded points, DePaul got a kill from Hanna Karl and a Ramblers attack error to close things out.
 
Loyola was unable to make a five-point lead hold up in a heartbreaking 27-25 loss in set two. A string of four unanswered points that featured kills from Addie Barnes and Karlie McNabb, as well as a pair of blocks from Feldkamp, put the Ramblers ahead, 7-3. That lead would extend to as many as five points and Loyola seemed to have things under control with a 22-17 advantage, only to see the Blue Demons charge back to record 10 of the next 13 points for the come-from-behind victory.
 
Three Emily Banitt kills played a pivotal role in Loyola jumping out to an early 8-4 edge in set three and the Ramblers would later extend their lead to 11-6. However, DePaul once again mounted a rally, assembling a 10-5 run to knot the score at 16-16. From that point neither team held a lead of more than two points and a Barnes kill had Loyola serving set point, up 26-25. But, a block from Bailey Nelson and kills from Donna Brown and Karl allowed the Demons to post another come-from-behind victory, this time a 28-26 decision. 
 
A Look at the Numbers

• In addition to Venuto's team-best 11 kills, Loyola received nine kills from Banitt and eight kills and 12 digs from Barnes.
• Watson produced eight kills and a team-best five blocks and Jenna Appel registered a double-double with 18 assists and 10 digs.
• Bailey Nelson drilled a team-high 11 kills to lead DePaul, which avenged its 2019 Chicago Cup loss to Loyola.

 
Up Next
Tomorrow, Loyola wraps up play at the Chicago Cup with showdowns versus UIC (10 a.m.) and Northwestern (8 p.m.) at Welsh-Ryan Arena.