ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Loyola Chicago women's volleyball team won its third consecutive match Tuesday evening with a 3-0 sweep of Saint Louis. With the victory,
Taylor Venuto became the newest member of Loyola's 1,000-kill club while head coach
Amanda Berkley picked up her 100
th career win with the Ramblers.
"I'm really proud of the team for coming together and for being ready to rally," said Berkley. "They are a resilient group and definitely showed that tonight. I'm happy for Taylor to get her 1000th kill and ready for her to get many more and move up the all-time kills list. I thought Addie had a very nice offensive match and got us kills when we needed them. Proud of the group effort!"
Addie Barnes had a match-high 12 kills while
Karlie McNabb and
Anna Feldkamp each added eight kills for the Ramblers.
Bree Borum had another all-round standout match, finishing with 32 assists and 10 digs for the double-double and chipping in six kills offensively. It was a balanced defensive effort, with
Olivia Lovett picking up 11 digs and
Emily Banitt adding 10. Venuto entered the match five kills shy of the 1,000-kill mark and ended the night with exactly five kills.
Loyola's defense was on full display Tuesday, limiting Saint Louis to a .104 hitting percentage for the match. Feldkamp and Banitt provided a stout presence at the net, getting in on six blocks apiece.
Tied at 16 in the opening set, three unanswered points by the Ramblers gave Loyola the separation it needed. Feldkamp opened with a kill and followed with a block alongside Borum, before Barnes ended the run with a kill to put Loyola up 19-16. The lead would hold, as Ramblers took a 1-0 lead with a 25-22 victory.
Facing a 15-10 deficit in the second set, Loyola came to life to run away with a second set victory. The Ramblers would go on an 8-0 run which would eventually build into an 11-2 run and put the visitors in front, 21-17, prompting a Saint Louis timeout. Six of the 11 points came via kills while another two were the result of blocks. Loyola maintained its lead down the stretch, closing out the 25-22 victory to go up 2-0 in the match.
It was another Rambler run that proved to be the difference in the third set. Tied at 5-all, Loyola went on an 11-1 run to go up 16-6 and take control of the set. The Ramblers would cruise to the finish line, taking the 3-0 sweep with a 25-17 victory.
Loyola returns home for a two-match series against George Washington this Saturday and Sunday.
News and Notes
- Loyola owned a 10-4 advantage in blocks over the Billikens.
- Saint Louis' .104 hitting percentage was the second lowest by a Loyola opponent this season.
- Borum notched her team-leading 11th double-double of the season with her 32 assits and 10 digs.
