RICHMOND, Va. – Behind a nearly flawless effort from Taylor Venuto, the Loyola Chicago women's volleyball team won its eight consecutive match Friday with a 3-0 sweep over VCU on the road.
 
"I thought we served well this match and did a good job defending out of system," said head coach Amanda Berkley. "Our middles were very efficient tonight and had great hitting percentages. Bree [Borum] also distributed the ball well and played very well defensively."
 
Venuto was nearly perfect on the attack Friday, finishing with a match-high 11 kills on 13 attempts while committing just one error to finish the match with .769 hitting percentage. Fellow middle Anna Feldkamp ended the night with a .438 hitting percentage on eight kills and one error (16 attemtps).
 
Four more Ramblers had at least six kills, with Karlie McNabb and Addie Barnes recording nine each while Bree Borum and Emily Banitt chipped in six apiece. Borum picked up a double-double in the winning effort with 20 digs, matching her season high which she set last time out. Three additional Ramblers were in double figures in digs, with McNabb finishing with 12, Olivia Lovett picking up 11 and Barnes adding 10.
 
Loyola scored the first six points of the first set and never looked back, cruising to a 25-13 victory. The Rambler offense was firing on all cylinders from the start, as the team combined to hit .400 in the first set.
 
The Ramblers held the lead from the jump in the second set, but VCU made it close as back-to-back points by the Rams mad it 8-7 Loyola. From there on, it was all Loyola as the Ramblers scored 17 of the next 20 points to easily take the 25-10 victory and put Loyola up 2-0 in the match.
 
VCU scored the first point of the third set, the Rams' first lead of the match, but Loyola quickly battled back to take the lead. Tied at 7-all, Loyola used a run to build a 13-8 advantage and would lead for the remainder of the match. VCU made it close, getting within one at 19-18, but three unanswered by the Ramblers ended any threat of a run.
 
Loyola will round out its weekend series against VCU Saturday afternoon, with first serve slated for 4 p.m. (CT).