SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (September 24, 2021)
 
In Short
Junior Addie Barnes had a huge night, totaling 17 kills and 12 digs to spark visiting Loyola University Chicago (8-5, 1-0 MVC) to an exciting 25-20, 16-25, 27-25, 26-24 victory over Missouri State (9-4, 0-1 MVC) tonight in the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both teams at Hammons Student Center. The Ramblers, who have now won six of their last eight matchups with the Bears, also won their Valley opener for the fourth straight campaign.
 
How It Happened
Barnes pounded down five kills in the opener and Loyola got two kills from Emily Banitt and a block and a kill from Taylor Venuto during a crucial stretch early that gave it a 7-2 lead it would never relinquish on the way to a 25-20 victory in set one.
 
Missouri State evened up the match at a set apiece by hitting at a .519 clip (17-3-27) in the second set to secure a 25-16 win. An Anna Feldkamp kill put Loyola ahead, 6-5, but from there, the Bears ran off five straight scores, the last on a kill from Amelia Flynn, to take the lead for good. Loyola was within striking distance midway through the set, down 15-12, but MSU outscored the Ramblers, 10-4, the remainder of the way.
 
Set three was a thrilling battle that saw Loyola storm back from a 19-14 deficit to earn a hard-fought, 27-25 decision to grab the lead in the match. The Ramblers' lead doubled to 12-10 on a Banitt kill, but Missouri State surged ahead behind a 9-2 spurt that gave it a 19-14 advantage. Loyola chipped away at the Bears' lead, tying the set at 23-23 on another kill from Barnes before taking a brief lead at 24-23. The teams traded off tallies until back-to-back stops from Feldkamp and Sarah Murczek capped the come-from-behind victory.
 
Staring down a fifth set trailing 24-19, Loyola pulled off one of the more improbable comebacks in its recent history, running off a remarkable seven unanswered points for a wild, 26-24 victory to win the match. Three straight Bears miscues allowed the Ramblers to creep within two points and then Barnes strapped the team on her back and willed it to victory down the stretch. The outside hitter smacked a kill to slice the Missouri State lead to one and then her solo block knotted the score at 24-24. Feldkamp and Watson paired up on a block to put Loyola ahead for the first time since an 11-10 edge early in the set and Barnes delivered the exclamation point by drilling her 17^thkill of the night to wrestle a 26-24 decision from the Bears.
 
A Look at the Numbers

• Barnes finished with 17 kills, one shy of equaling her career high set earlier this season versus Xavier, and put up 12 digs, for her fourth double-double of 2021. She was nearly unstoppable, hitting a scalding .417 (17-2-36) to power the Ramblers' attack tonight.
• Banitt accounted for 10 kills and Feldkamp produced eight kills and four blocks, while hitting at a .318 (8-1-22) rate.
• Venuto pitched in eight kills and three blocks and Grace Hinchman dug 20 balls, while Jenna Appel racked up 23 assists and 11 digs.
• Flynn had 17 kills for Missouri State, which suffered its first defeat at Hammons Student Center this fall.

 
Up Next
Loyola finishes up the challenging weekend road trip tomorrow when it travels to Southern Illinois. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m.