Loyola University Chicago Athletics

CHICAGO (November 11, 2022)
 
In Short
Loyola University Chicago (22-8, 16-1 A-10) clinched the Atlantic 10 regular season championship after defeating Davidson (20-8, 14-3 A-10) in four sets Friday night, 25-20, 22-25, 25-12, 25-16, at Gentile Arena. The Ramblers earned the top seed in next weekend's A-10 Championship and have recorded back-to-back regular season conference titles (MVC champs in 2021). Karlie McNabb and Taylor Venuto each put down 17 kills to lead the way offensively, while Bree Borum gathered a career-high 22 digs.
 
How It Happened
Loyola pulled away late in the opening set after back-and-forth action that featured five lead changes. After Davidson block gave the visitors a 7-6 lead, the Ramblers responded with a 4-0 run to seize control. The Wildcats stayed within striking distance and trailed 19-17, but the Ramblers used a 5-2 run powered by McNabb's first of three aces on the night to create separation and eventually a 25-20 set victory. McNabb finished with six kills in the first set.
 
Davidson responded in the second frame, as another close set featured eight tied scores, and the Wildcats capitalized on Loyola's match-low .022 team hitting percentage in the stanza. Loyola jumped out to an 8-5 lead on a block from Kelsey Watson and Addie Barnes, but Davidson responded to even the score at 9-9. The scoring went back-and-forth until the visitors strung together a 5-1 run for a 20-16 lead. Loyola fought back to get within a point at 23-22, but the Wildcats held on to level the match at one set apiece. Venuto had a team-high six kills in the second set.
 
From then on, it was all Loyola as the Ramblers never trailed the rest of the night.
 
In the third, Loyola built momentum and hit over .400 as team, which included a massive 10-0 run to put away the Wildcats. After Davidson got within three at 14-11, another Venuto kill sparked the rally for Loyola as the senior logged five more kills in the set.
 
The momentum boiled over into the final set for Loyola, with the Maroon & Gold running out to a 9-3 lead. Monster kills from Bree Borum and Emily Banitt led off the scoring in the fourth stanza and the Ramblers never looked back. The Wildcats got back within three but that was as close as they would get, before the lead swelled to as much as eight points. A balanced effort saw six Ramblers record at least two kills in the set, led by five more from McNabb.
 
Looking At The Numbers

• McNabb finished with 17 kills (.200), nine digs and three aces
• Venuto had 17 kills while hitting .567 (17-0-30) and posted six block assists and one block solo
• Borum logged another double-double with 42 assists and 22 digs (career high), along with five kills and three block assists (career-high)
• Watson posted a team-high seven blocks with five kills
• Barnes finished with 16 digs, seven kills and career-high six blocks
• Banitt recorded seven kills, five digs and four block assists
• The Ramblers finished with 14 blocks - their second-most against a league opponent
• Loyola outhit Davidson .224 to .076 overall in the match, registering the sixth match this season holding an opponent under .100
• Loyola didn't surrender an ace for the first time all season

Up Next
Loyola and Davidson meet again tomorrow to close out the regular season. First serve is set for 2 p.m. CT at Gentile, with the Senior Day ceremony taking place after the match.