CHICAGO – The Loyola Chicago women's volleyball team dropped its non-conference finale Saturday afternoon, falling to Yale, 3-1, in the final match of the Hampton Inn Invitational.
 
Karlie McNabb and Emily Banitt were each in double figures in kills, recording 11 and 10, respectively. Bree Borum notched a double-double with 21 assists and a team-high 15 digs while Kylie Schulze added a season-high 14 assists.
 
Trailing 16-9 in the opening set, Loyola went on a 10-4 run to pull within one at 20-19 and force a timeout by Yale. An Anna Feldkamp block was sandwiched by a pair of Borum kills to end the run. The Bulldogs used a 3-0 spurt to go up 24-20 and would eventually close out the 25-22 decision.
 
Loyola bounced back to take the second set in extra points, 29-27, to even the match up at 1-all. The second set featured 10 ties and five lead changes, as the two teams were neck and neck down the stretch. Kills by Borum, Feldkamp and Esma Ajanovic gave Loyola set points at 24-23, 25-24 and 26-25, but Yale continuously extended the match. The Bulldogs had their own set point at 27-26, but a service error tied the set up at 27-all. Avary DeBlieck connected out of the middle to give Loyola its fourth set point at 28-27 and Borum closed out the set with an ace.
 
The two teams battled throughout the early going of the third set, with Yale taking a slim 15-12 lead into the media timeout. A critical 5-1 Yale run would eventually push the lead to 21-15 and the Bulldogs would go on to close out the 25-21 decision to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
In the fourth set, there were 11 ties and five lead changes before Yale eventually pulled away. Banitt served up an ace to give Loyola a slim 14-13 lead, Loyola's last lead of the set. Yale responded by scoring 12 of the final 15 points to pick up the 25-17 victory and the 3-1 victory in the match.
 
Loyola now turns its attention to Atlantic 10 play, beginning next weekend. The Ramblers will open conference play at home, taking on Dayton next Friday and Saturday, Sept. 22-23.
 
News and Notes

• Banitt led the blocking effort, recording a pair of solo blocks and three assisted blocks for a team-high five total blocks. Ella Ramsay added four assisted blocks as well.
• Addie Barnes fell just shy of a double-double, finishing with nine kills and nine digs. Olivia Lovett and Grace Hinchman added nine digs each as well.
• In Loyola's second-set victory, the Ramblers served up three of the teams' five total aces.
• Bree Borum was Loyola's most efficient offensive weapon, finishing with five kills on no errors and a .556 hitting percentage.