LEADING OFF
Loyola Chicago finished the regular season at 18-11 overall and 13-5 in Atlantic 10 play. The league finish earned the Ramblers the No. 3 seed in the A-10 Tournament held in Dayton, Ohio this weekend. Loyola will face No. 6 Saint Louis in the opening round Friday at 2:30 p.m. CT.
The winner will advance to play No. 2 VCU in the semifinal match slated for Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT. The championship match will start at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday, Nov. 22 • vs. Saint Louis • 2:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, Nov. 23 • Semifinals• 2:30 p.m. CT
Sunday, Nov. 24 • Championship • 11 a.m. CT
QUICK HITS
• Loyola takes a nine-match win streak into the tournament. Eight of the nine matches were sweeps. The Ramblers only dropped one set to George Washington over the weekend.
• The regular season concluded at GW where Loyola won 3-1 and 3-0 to take the series.
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Marta Cvitkovic posted a season-high 18 kills in the first match vs. GW. It marks the third time this season she's had 18 kills. Cvitkovic also hit .455 and recorded five digs.
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Bree Borum had a double-double with 33 assists and 13 digs.
Olivia Lovett let the team with 17 digs.
• In the final match of the series, Borum had nine kills, 31 assists, and eight digs.
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Esma Ajanovic led the team with 11 kills, while Lovett added 10.
• Over the weekend, Borum reached two career milestones. In match one, Borum eclipsed the 1,000th dig mark, while in match two, she surpassed 3,000 assists. She moved up to fifth all-time in assists in Loyola's record book.
• Borum has 19 double-doubles this season and four triple-doubles. She posted an eight-match streak with at least a double-double recorded from Oct. 12 to Nov. 2.
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Ann Marie Remmes, Cvitkovic, and Borum all rank among the A-10 best players in several stat categories.
• Remmes falls fourth with a .369 hitting percentage.
• Cvitkovic sits seventh with 3.18 kills per set, fourth with .39 aces per set, and sixth with 3.74 points per set.
• Borum is second in assists per set (9.48) and eighth in digs per set (3.06).
• Head coach
Amanda Berkley is in her seventh season at the helm. Her overall record with the Ramblers is 132-76.
SCOUTING SAINT LOUIS
The Billikens earned the No. 6 seed with a 6-12 finish in A-10 play. Overall, SLU posted an 11-19 record. SLU ranks in the bottom half of the league in points per set, kills per set, hitting percentage, assists per set, and digs per set. The Billikens have had success serving and blocks, ranking fifth in aces per set and fourth in blocks per set.
Addy Brus has stepped up for the Billikens this season. She ranks third in the league, averaging 3.69 kills per set and 4.20 points per set. The freshman hitter has three Rookie of the Week and one Player of the Week honor this season. she had 19 matches with double-figure kills, including seven with 20 or more. Brus recorded a career-high 27 kills against SEMO in the second match of the season.
SERIES HISTORY
Loyola leads the all-time series, 16-6. The Ramblers swept the regular season meetings, winning 3-1 and 3-0. Cvitkovic had 12 kills back on Oct. 29 to lead the Rambler offense.
