CHICAGO -- Back in Gentile Arena for the first time since last fall, Loyola Chicago battled Southeast Missouri State to a five-set victory, powered by sophomore outside Leyna Nguyen's career-high 23 kills on .340 hitting. Her sophomore counterpart Katie Scherer racked up 17 kills while hitting above .500.
Defensively, four Ramblers reached double figure digs, highlighted by junior libero Sam Falk's 23, 12 from junior Jae Fitting and 11 more from sophomore Mya Ball. At the net, junior Mallory Bohl contributed the match-high nine blocks.
Coach Quote: Amanda Berkley
"I'm proud of the team for really battling tonight; they did a good job of staying the course and bouncing back after difficult set losses. Set two was a tough loss, but we came back and played a lot better, and same thing after set four. The fifth set was our most complete set, and we found a way to get this win. We knew the first one would be hard to get, so I'm proud of our team for fighting through it."
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Ramblers seized an early lead, handily winning the first set 25-18, and never trailing by more than five points before grabbing the advantage for good at 16-15. Loyola's front row put on a solid defensive performance, blocking five SEMO attacks in the stanza.
SET 2 | Loyola stumbled in the second set, falling 25-19 after losing the first point. Scherer had six kills in the set and Ball contributed five digs.
SET 3 | The second-set loss went in the rearview mirror for Loyola after grinding out a 25-20 victory in the third. The Ramblers opened up a 22-16 lead in the stanza and put together a .379 attack percentage with 14 kills in the set win.
SET 4 | Despite another strong showing on the attacking side, Loyola couldn't finish off a four-set win as SEMO forced a fifth set with a 25-21 victory.
SET 5 | Both sides went back-and-forth throughout the final frame, trading points before Loyola took the last lead at 8-7 and coasted to victory from there.
Inside the Box Score
- Fitting had a match and season-high four aces in the win.
- Bohl's nine blocks were another season high.
- Ball dished out a match-high 48 assists.
Up Next
The Ramblers return to action against the Bradley Braves tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 11 at 6:30 p.m.
