CHICAGO – Loyola Chicago opened Atlantic 10 play with a home match against Davidson Friday night. The Ramblers forced a fourth set after taking the third, but the Wildcats came away with a 3-1 win.
 
Loyola falls to 5-7 on the year.
 
"Credit to Davidson tonight. They came ready to play and they wanted it more than us," said head coach Amanda Berkley. "We have got to do a better job of bringing energy. We've got to do a better job of the serve and pass game. I am proud of our middles for coming ready to play. If we could get them the ball more that would be great."
 
In the middle for the Ramblers, Ann Marie Remmes tallied a season-high 14 kills, while hitting .464. Avary DeBlieck had six kills on nine attempts and recorded a career-high 10 blocks.
 
From the outside, Marta Cvitkovic became the second Rambler with a double-double this year, finishing with 13 kills and 10 digs. She added five blocks.
 
Bree Borum recorded a match-high 38 assists, while Sam Falk had a team-best 13 digs.
 
How It Happened
Set One: The Ramblers and Wildcats traded the lead seven times with Loyola tying the set 12-12 on a kill from Esma Ajanovic midway through. Davidson was finally able to gain some separation on a 4-0 run sparked with a kill from Isabel Decker, which was followed by a pair of aces. Loyola didn't give up the fight, clawing back to tie the match one more time 23-23. DeBlieck and Remmes recorded kills in the stretch as the Ramblers looked to make a late rally. Decker connected on two straight attacks for the Wildcats to halt Loyola's progress, winning 25-23.
 
Set Two: The Ramblers jumped out to a 7-5 edge over the Wildcats with the help of four unanswered points, highlighted by kills from Remmes and Cvitkovic. A Borum ace and Ajanovic kill helped Loyola build its lead to four mid-way through the set, 13-9. The Wildcats didn't falter and slowly chipped away. Emma Slusser's kill brought them within one, while a Loyola attack error knotted the match, 16-16. The remainder of the set saw three more ties. The final on a kill from Cvitkovic, 19-19. Davidson put two straight on the board to follow up and held control to win, 25-22.
 
Set Three: Three early kills for the Wildcats led them to a 5-1 lead out of first serve. The Ramblers battled back to take their first lead on a kill from Cvitkovic, 10-8. Despite Davidson tying the match at 13 all, the Ramblers built their lead back to five after Ajanovic sparked a 5-0 run with Remmes and Borum adding kills. The Wildcats got back within one of the Ramblers after Songaila and Slusser went for two straight kills, but three errors in a 4-0 stretch for Loyola erased Davidson's progress to put the Ramblers back up by five. Cvitkovic and Ajanovic tallied the final two Loyola points, helping the Ramblers take one, 25-21.
 
Set Four: Everything fell in Loyola's favor to open the fourth set, following early Davidson errors. Remmes and Borum also posted two consecutive kills, igniting a 4-0 run that led to a 9-4 lead. The Ramblers quickly built their lead to 10 points with six straight on the board. Cvitkovic had an ace and kill to cap the run for Loyola. Momentum swung in Davidson's favor as a 9-0 run forced the Ramblers to call both timeouts and get the Wildcats back within one, 17-16. Remmes and Borum attempted to keep Loyola ahead, but two straight attack errors allowed the Wildcats to tie the set, 20-20. Another attack error ultimately gave them the lead, 22-21. Loyola forced a tie three times, but the Wildcats pulled away to win, 26-24.
 
Up Next
The Ramblers and Wildcats close out the series Saturday a 2 pm in Gentile Arena.