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.
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"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!"
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Loyola returns home for a two-match series against George Washington this Saturday and Sunday.
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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.