Women’s Volleyball Drops Second Game Against No. 23 Dayton

The Loyola women’s volleyball team put up a fight against the University of Dayton on Saturday Sept. 23 by a few aces, blocks and kills but eventually fell three sets to none. 

The team entered the court wearing shirts that said “WIN 4 KIM” and green bows in their hair — a tribute to graduate outside hitter Karlie McNabb’s mother Kim McNabb who died of cancer Sept. 7, 2022. A video was also presented in the game demonstrating the effect her mom’s passing had on her ability to play and how the team constantly had her back.

Loyola opened the match by losing the first point on a kill by Dayton fourth-year middle blocker Amelia Moore. The Ramblers only stayed a point or two behind the Flyers in the early exchange. The Flyers offense remained strong despite a service error from third-year setter Alyssa Miller. 

A few rallies and substitutions later, Loyola’s deficit started to increase due to Rambler attack errors and kills by Dayton’s third-year outside and left hitter Lexie Almodovar, second-year middle blocker Liana Sarkissian and Miller

After the Ramblers used their second time out, the score was 9-17 in favor of the Flyers. Both teams were fighting in a long, nerve-racking rally. The rally ended with Dayton’s third-year middle blocker Alayna Yates’ spike smashing into a brick wall of Ramblers consisting middle blocker Anna Feldkamp and graduate student outside hitter Addie Barnes who combined for a block earning Loyola the point. 

Loyola fought hard down the stretch to decrease the Flyers’ lead but ended up losing the set 14-25.

The Flyers opened the second set and won the first point due to a ball handling error by third-year setter Bree Borum. The point was quickly regained on a blazing kill to the far left side of the court by fourth-year right side hitter Emily Bannit, tying the score right away. 

The teams traded points as the set continued at a tie until the ninth point where Yates made a kill which increased Dayton’s lead to two points. The Ramblers stayed in the fight with back-to-back blocks by graduate student middle blocker Taylor Venuto and Borum. Fourth-year outside hitter McNabb spiked the ball which made contact with Dayton’s blockers, but the block was unsuccessful and earned the Ramblers another point.

Two points after the push from Loyola, Barnes came through with a kill. Second-year Flyer outside hitter Taylor Russell put the set away with a kill, burying Loyola 21-25. 

Dayton went down early in the third set due to a double contact violation. They tied the game with the help of a kill by Moore. The set remained close with Loyola leading until Dayton broke it open in the 11th point with a kill from Miller. 

Both Moore and Sarkissian held the Flyers’ defensive team by blocking multiple kill attempts by McNabb. The Ramblers responded to the attack with a block by both Venuto and Borum on a pass by Almodovar, gaining a point for the Ramblers.

McNabb was the leading performer for the Ramblers with a team-high 13 digs and eight kills. Borum provided six assists while Feldkamp made six kills and Barnes contributed seven. 

Loyola’s head coach Amanda Berkley said even though there were some good moments, the team needs to improve if they want to compete for a championship this year.

“Dayton is a very good team, very physical and they were a tough matchup for us,” Berkley said. “I think we still have a lot of room to get better, work on these sort of little things and being more disciplined.” 

Next, the Loyola women’s volleyball team will head on the road to face Davidson College on Friday, Sept. 29 at 6 p.m.

Featured image by Max Bates | The Phoenix