DAYTON, Ohio – No. 3 Loyola Chicago swept No. 6 Saint Louis in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament Friday afternoon. The Ramblers advance to the semifinals to take on No. 2 VCU Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT.
 
Marta Cvitkovic had a big day offensively, tallying 11 kills on a .346 hitting percentage. She added five digs, two aces and a block.
 
"I'm really proud of the team for how they competed today," said head coach Amanda Berkley. "It was great to see the team stay composed and make a comeback in the third set. I thought St. Louis did a great job of serving, but the team did a great job managing their game plan and serving tough. We need to turn up the defense tomorrow against a very good VCU team."
 
Bree Borum led the match with 32 assists. She tallied four kills, four digs, and two blocks.
 
Ann Marie Remmes had a big day at the net, leading the match with five blocks. She also recorded six kills.
 
Esma Ajanovic added nine kills, while Sam Falk had a match-high 17 digs.
 
How It Happened
Set One: The Ramblers held control of set one right from first serve. Remmes served an ace for an early 3-1 edge. Cvitkovic and Lovett had back-to-back kills to go up 6-3 before the Billikens fought to tie the match 7-all. The set saw another tie until the Ramblers strung together a 6-2 run for a 16-11 lead. Ajanovic had two kills in the final 3-0 stretch. She later sparked another three unanswered points pushing the lead to 19-13. SLU got back within three before Addy Brus and Chloe Maughan made it a one-point game, 23-22 Loyola. Avary DeBlieck was able to seal the win with one final kill for the Ramblers, 25-23.
 
Set Two: Cvitkovic, Borum, and Lovett heated up quickly in the second, putting Loyola up 5-2 with four combined kills. Remmes then sparked a 5-0 run with kills from Ajanovic and Cvitkovic. Cvitkovic also had an ace, and Loyola went up 13-6. Despite the deficit, SLU battled back and got within two after kills from Delaney Rice and Brus, 19-17. Loyola would push its lead back to five, but Kayla Jansen and Trinity Luckett kept the Billikens in the mix. Late Billiken errors allowed the Ramblers to come away on top, 25-22.
 
Set Three: SLU fount its rhythm to open the third, jumping out 8-4 with three aces to help the Billiken effort. Loyola would go down seven following a 6-1 SLU run that had kills from four different Billikens, 20-13. The Ramblers rallied with three straight kills from DeBlieck, Ajanovic, and Cvitkovic. Another four unanswered with a pair of Ajanovic kills and Falk ace cut the lead to one, 22-21. SLU would get two more points, while Loyola scored the final five of the final six to complete the comeback. Remmes delivered the final kill for a 26-24 win.
 
Up Next
Loyola will meet VCU in the semifinals Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT.