CHICAGO – Loyola Chicago beat Saint Louis 3-1 Tuesday night handing the Billikens their first loss in Atlantic 10 play. Bree Borum and Marta Cvitkovic both posted double-doubles. Borum finished with a season-high 45 assists and 13 digs, while Cvitkovic had a season-best 18 kills and 12 digs. It marks the seventh double-double for Borum this season and Cvitkovic's second. 
 
With the win, Loyola improves to 7-7 overall and 2-1 in A-10 play.
 
"Overall, I thought our serving was really good, especially in the sets that we won," said head coach Amanda Berkley. "Serving is a huge part of the game. We want to try to get the teams out of system and hit the spots we want them to hit. We wanted to disrupt their offense by making their first contact tough, and I think we did a better job of that tonight. I am proud of the team for competing on a short week with little preparation."
 
Ann Marie Remmes and Avary DeBlieck also recorded double-digit kills with 12 and 10, respectively. DeBlieck led Loyola hitting .471. Both tallied two blocks each.
 
Loyola finished with seven aces against SLU. Cvitkovic, Jae Fitting, and Sam Falk had two each.
 
How It Happened
Set One: The Ramblers started the set off strong with back-to-back kills from Remmes to go up 3-1. She tallied her fourth kill by Loyola's seventh point of the set, which sparked a 3-0 run, giving Loyola a 9-3 edge. Delaney Rice delivered three straight kills for the Billikens to cut the lead down to two, while Addy Brus and Evelyn Hale helped SLU tie it 12 all. Loyola scored five of the next six points, capped by Maley with two straight kills to regain a four-point lead. Nearing the end of the first set, the Billikens went on a 3-0 scoring run closing the gap to 23-21, but the Ramblers went on to win 25-22 with one final kill from Esma Ajanovic to end it.
 
Set Two: SLU got off to a hot start with three unanswered points to open the second, but the Ramblers responded with four straight kills, including two from DeBlieck to swing the lead in their favor, 4-3. The teams traded points until three straight Loyola errors aided a SLU run to go up 16-10. Borum took control down the stretch with a pair of kills, helping the Ramblers get within two. SLU rallied and scored six of the last eight points, including two straight kills to clinch the set win, 25-19.
 
Set Three: Cvitkovic opened the third set with both her service aces as Loyola went up 4-0 to start. The Ramblers kept their rhythm going with a tip over the net from Remmes for a five-point lead. Remmes kept applying pressure with two more kills, while Fitting recorded an ace for their largest lead yet, 11-4. SLU didn't have an answer as Loyola kept delivering blow after blow. Borum had two straight for a 14-5 lead. It went up to 10 with a Billiken error. SLU found a spark with a 4-0 run to follow, but the damage was done, and Loyola went on to win 25-18.
 
Set Four: Loyola's dominance continued into the fourth set as the Ramblers took a 4-1 lead out of the gate with kills from Maley and Cvitkovic. The pair teamed up again with two straight to keep the lead at three, 7-4. Cvitkovic then registered two straight, sparking a 4-0 run that was capped with a Borum ace. SLU couldn't get back within five, and Loyola built the lead even higher with six unanswered, which included three kills from Cvitkovic to go up 23-12. Cvitkovic set the Ramblers up for match point with her final kill of the night, while DeBlieck secured the win, 25-16.
 
Up Next
Loyola takes the next four matches on the road. First up, the Ramblers will play at Rhode Island this weekend. First serve is 5 pm CT Friday and 1 pm CT Saturday.