CARBONDALE, Ill. (September 25, 2021)
 
In Short
Addie Barnes walloped a career-high 25 kills to help Loyola University Chicago (9-5, 2-0 MVC) survive a scare from Southern Illinois (5-10, 0-2 MVC), 24-26, 25-23, 25-16, 29-27, tonight at Davies Gym. The Ramblers are off to a 2-0 start in Valley action for the third time in the last four seasons and through opening weekend, they are the only MVC team to have won two league contests.
 
How It Happened
The host Salukis jumped all over Loyola at the outset, scoring seven of the first eight points of the match for an early six-point advantage. Loyola methodically chipped away at the Salukis' lead and eventually drew even at 21-21. The teams traded off scores until back-to-back Rambler errors provided the difference in Southern Illinois' 26-24 set-one win.
 
SIU took advantage of a 6-1 run in set two to open up an 18-13 advantage, but once again, Loyola clawed its way back into the set, this time assembling an 11-4 run highlighted by three kills each from Barnes and Emily Banitt, that erased the deficit and put Loyola on top, 24-22. After a Nataly Garcia kill cut the Ramblers' advantage in half, Barnes deposited another kill to punctuate Loyola's come-from-behind, 25-23 decision.
 
Loyola rode the momentum from that stirring comeback to a dominating, 25-16 victory in the third set. Barnes almost single-handedly carried the Ramblers in set three, smashing six of her team's 13 kills as the Ramblers hit .333 (13-3-30). An initial 6-1 burst removed any doubt about the outcome of the set and after the Salukis crept within 13-10, two kills from Barnes and a kill and a block from Taylor Venuto were part of another 6-1 stretch that delivered the knockout punch to SIU.
 
Once again, the Ramblers climbed their way out of a sizable hole, wiping out a six-point deficit to earn a hard-fought, 29-27 victory in the fourth set. Southern Illinois darted out to an 11-5 lead only to see the Ramblers pick themselves off the mat thanks to an 8-2 run that began with a Lane Jenkins kill and also included aces from Jenkins and Grace Hinchman. Loyola was on the verge of closing out the set, leading 24-21, but back-to-back aces from Garcia capped a 3-0 spurt that tied things up at 24-24. After a brief exchange of points, the Ramblers were finally able to close things out when Barnes clubbed her 25^thkill of the night, which was immediately followed by a Barnes/Kelsey Watson block. 
 
A Look at the Numbers

• Barnes had another monster evening, crushing a career-best 25 kills, the most by a Rambler since Morgan Reardon went for 32 kills versus Drake on September 17, 2014. In addition, the junior outside hitter hit a sensational .391 (25-7-46) on the evening while also contributing seven digs.
• Banitt provided a season-high 13 kills and hit .333 (13-3-30), with a career-high six blocks.
• Loyola, which totaled 14 blocks as a team, got eight rejections and nine kills from Venuto.
• Hinchman produced a team-best 21 digs and Loyola served up eight aces on the night, three of which came courtesy of Jenna Appel.
• Tatum Tornatta led Southern Illinois with 18 kills, hitting a whopping .485 (18-2-33).

 
Up Next
The Ramblers play their first home math in a month when they welcome Evansville to Gentile Arena Friday night (Oct. 1) for a 6 p.m. showdown.