KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (August 26, 2022) 
 
In Short 
Senior outside hitter Addie Barnes recorded her fifth straight double-double dating back to last season to help lead Loyola University Chicago (1-0) to a 28-26, 20-25, 25-18, 25-18 victory over Bowling Green (0-2) this afternoon at the Tennessee Classic hosted by the University of Tennessee. The Ramblers have prevailed in each of their last three season openers.
 
How It Happened
Loyola got off to a slow start in the opener as Bowling Green looked like a team with a match already under its belt. Staring at a 14-7 deficit, Loyola went on an impressive run, tallying seven of the next ten points in the opening set, the final one coming on a kill from Addie Barnes, who also kicked off the rally with a kill, to draw even at 17-17. The Ramblers trailed 23-21 before charging back to tie the set at 23-23. After falling behind 25-24, consecutive kills from Emily Banitt and Bree Borum gave Loyola its first lead of set one (26-25). Following a Falcons point, Borum added another kill before a Bowling Green attack error capped off the Ramblers' improbable comeback victory, 28-26.
 
Another slow start put the Ramblers in a 5-1 hole in set two, but a few points later, Kelsey Watson had a hand in a pair of blocks as part of six unanswered points that were punctuated by a service ace from Barnes that moved Loyola on top, 9-7. Bowling Green clawed back and took the lead for good, at 17-16, on Kat Mandly's kill. A few points later, a Taylor Venuto block brought the Ramblers within a single tally (19-18), but the Falcons ran off six of the next eight points to secure a 25-20 decision and tie the match at a set each.
 
Seven unanswered points, highlighted by a pair of kills from Venuto, were part of a set-closing 8-1 Loyola run that snapped a 17-17 stalemate and gave the Ramblers the 25-18 victory in set three. Loyola, which hit .355 (15-4-31) for the set, trailed by three points (12-9) early, but a 6-1 burst that included two kills from Barnes, gave the Maroon & Gold a short-lived 15-13 edge.
 
Loyola closed out the match by scoring nine of the final ten points in set four for a 25-18 victory. A kill from Banitt sparked that decisive, set-closing spurt that also featured a pair of kills from Kelsey Watson. 
 
 
Inside the Numbers

• Barnes picked up where she left off last season, when she recorded a double-double in each of her final four appearances of the year. The senior outside hitter racked up a team-high 12 kills and added 10 digs today for her fifth straight double-double, while also serving up three aces and adding five blocks.
• Junior libero Grace Hinchman inched closer to 1,000 career digs by totaling a team-best 17 digs. She needs 15 more to reach 1,000 for her career.
• Banitt and Karlie McNabb tallied nine kills apiece, with McNabb also totaling 12 digs.
• Anna Feldkamp provided eight kills and Watson contributed six kills and eight blocks.
• Kat Mandly and Katelyn Meyer tallied 14 kills apiece for Bowling Green, which hit just .131 (49-29-153) for the contest. 
• Since the start of the 2020-21 campaign, Loyola is now 28-2 when winning the first set of a match.

 
Up Next
Loyola is right back in action at 6 p.m. CT tonight when it faces Tennessee. The match will be streamed live on SEC Network+.