Women’s Volleyball Clinch A-10 Tournament Spot with Victory Over Duquesne

The Loyola women’s volleyball team swept Duquesne University in their first of two weekend matches Friday night, securing a spot in the Atlantic-10 conference tournament. 

The match opened with fourth-year right side hitter Emily Banitt racking up her first block and kill of the night to put the Ramblers ahead. A dive by third-year libero Olivia Lovett allowed fifth-year outside hitter Addie Barnes to spike the ball on a kill to maintain a 3-2 Loyola lead.  

A long rally between the Ramblers and Dukes followed a Bannit serve until Barnes ended it with one of 12 kills she racked up that night. 

The Dukes then went on a hot streak with kills from second-year outside hitter Carsyn Henschen and an offensive error by fourth-year outside hitter Karlie McNabb. Graduate middle blocker Taylor Venuto ended their run with a kill, tying the set 9-9. 

Fourth-year defensive specialist Grace Hinchman served after back-to-back kills by Banitt and a kill by Barnes. Hinchman’s serves put the Ramblers up by two with an ace by Duquesne first-year outside hitter Avery Hobson which just missed and an attack error by second-year middle blocker Ariel Helm.

After a media timeout, the Ramblers and the Dukes kept a steady back and forth, with Loyola staying on top. 

The set came down to the wire as each team surpassed 25 points, concluding with Venuto spiking the ball over the net and a kill from McNabb giving the Ramblers a 27-25 victory.

Loyola started slow in the second set, but it ended up an easy victory for the Ramblers. Barnes said an early timeout called by Loyola with Duquesne ahead 5-8 allowed the Ramblers to remember their recently adapted mini-game plan. 

“We really focused on taking mini games to five,” Barnes said. “Just like refocus. Even though maybe we are down by a few points, we can come back. Focusing on the little games really helps us.” 

After the initial timeout, Barnes took hold of the momentum and went on a six-serve streak. An error by Duquesne’s Henschen, blocks by fourth-year middle blocker Anna Feldkamp and McNabb and a kill from third-year setter Bree Borum put the Ramblers back in the lead 11-9. 

The Ramblers maintained their lead against the Dukes even with multiple returning kill attempts by Henschen. Loyola ended the set with a kill by McNabb to close the set out 25-18. 

Set three started as slowly as the last for the Ramblers, with Duquesne ahead for the majority of the set. 

Duquesne’s Hobson helped the Dukes jump out to an early lead with three kills and a block before a media timeout. 

The Ramblers tried to stay in the game with a save by Borum and two kills in four points and an ace credited to Banitt. Duquesne kept up with Loyola as a blocking error on McNabb and Feldkamp’s behalf and a kill by Helm maintained their lead. 

The push did not stop for the Ramblers as Borum and McNabb showed out with a kill each, two diving saves by Lovett and Borum and blocking skills from Feldkamp and Barnes had the Ramblers creeping up the scoreboard. 

The Dukes were getting nervous as Loyola managed to tie the match at 20 points each, credited to kills from Borum, McNabb, Barnes and Feldkamp, as well as an ace by Barnes. Attack errors from Henschen and graduate outside hitter Morgan Gish led to a regroup for the Dukes with a timeout. 

Excitement grew in Gentile Arena as the Ramblers got closer to set point. Three serves by Lovett helped push the score to 23 even.

Borum dumped the ball onto Duquesne’s side after a serve by Hobson. Service went back and forth from second-year outside hitter Hanna Wilson to McNabb to first-year setter Chloe Wilmot which resulted in a double hit on the Dukes’ side.  

The final serves were by Hinchman for the 27th and 28th point, resulting in an attack error by Henschen and a kill by Feldkamp to secure the sweep for Loyola. 

Head coach Amanda Berkley said it was tough to play against a team with good passing skills, but their confidence has been maintained with their now 11-game win streak. 

“I thought Duquesne played a really good match today,” Berkley said. “They passed really well, and I think we genuinely have a good serving team, and it was really tough to point score tonight. Overall, proud of the team for getting through a win and finding ways to keep siding out and finding ways to point score at the end.”

At the conclusion of the victorious match, the team was informed they had secured their spot in the A-10 conference championship. 

“I’m glad we clinched a spot in the conference tournament,” Berkley said. “That’s the first goal that you want to attain. Everytime we play, we’ve got to continue to get better and better so that we are playing our best volleyball at the end of the season.”

The Ramblers are set to travel to New York City to take on Fordham University for two matches Nov. 3-4 at 5 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively. 

Featured image by Krisjanis Kaugars | The Phoenix