BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The Loyola Chicago volleyball team lost to the Wright State in a thrilling five-set battle, 3-2 (20-25, 25-10, 25-22, 22-25, 21-23) Saturday at EA Diddle Arena to wrap the opening weekend.

Loyola falls to 1-2 on the year.

The Ramblers were led by Leyna Nguyen's third straight double-double. She registered 21 kills and 11 digs on the day. Kaitlyn Burke also added 16 kills to help the attack. On the defensive end, Sam Falk chipped in for with 20 digs to go with six blocks from Karli Molnau.

"What a battle it was today," said head coach Amanda Berkley. "We saw a lot of positive things but learned we need to take advantage of opportunities better and execute at critical times. We will regroup this week and get ready for the Hawkeye Invitational next weekend."

How It Happened
SET 1 | The Ramblers found themselves in an early hole, dropping the first set 25-20. Wright State grabbed the advantage for good at 16-15 in a set that was knotted up six times before the Raiders took over in the second half of the stanza.

SET 2 | Loyola responded to pick up a 25-10 victory in set two, evening the match at one set apiece. The Ramblers scored first and never trailed in the set to earn the victory. Loyola opened up as much as a 15 point lead at 24-9 before closing out the set. The Ramblers hit .500 over the course of the set and were led by Avary DeBlieck, who came alive for eight kills in set two. The Loyola offense also got a boost from four aces in the stanza.

SET 3 | Loyola took set three to jump ahead of Wright State. The Ramblers took the set 25-22 powered by a solid performance on the attacking side. Loyola put together a .429 attack percentage with 17 kills in the set win. Nguyen had eight of those kills. After the lead changed hands one time, the Ramblers took control for good at 14-13 and rode that advantage to victory.

SET 4 | Loyola couldn't keep the win streak going, as the Raiders forced a fifth set with a 25-22 fourth-set win. The Ramblers came up short in a back-and-forth set, losing in a stanza that featured five lead changes and was tied 10 times. Neither team opened up a lead of more than three points along the way.

SET 5 | Loyola opened a lead of two sets to one before falling in the final two sets, including a 23-21 loss in the fifth set. Despite pinpoint serving, the Ramblers dropped set five. Loyola totaled three aces in the set loss. The Ramblers dropped the set despite putting together 12 of their 21 points via the kill. got a solid defensive performance from a front row that blocked four Wright State attacks in the stanza.

Game Notes

• Loyola had three players in double figures in kills.
• Nguyen led the way with a season-high 21 kills. It marked the third straight match in double-figure kills and first eclipsing the 20-kill mark. Nguyen notched her third straight double-double, adding 11 digs.
• Burke (16) and DeBlieck (12) contributed on the double-digit kill efforts. 
• Loyola had three more Ramblers in double figures in digs, including a match-high 20 digs by Falk.
• Falk also had a match-high three aces in the loss.
• Loyola attackers were helped by a match and career-high 54 assists from Ava Hunter.
• Nguyen was named to the All-Tournament teams voted on by the participating coaches.