Cvitkovic Shines as Loyola Faces Tough Competition at Kathy DeBoer Invitational

After opening their season with a 1-2 record following the Western Michigan Invitational, the Loyola women’s volleyball team looked to bounce back at the Kathy DeBoer Invitational hosted by Michigan State Sept. 6-8. 

Sept. 6 vs Marist

In their first match of the invitational, the Ramblers made good on the opportunity to gain a .500 record for the first point of the season against Marist College. The Ramblers found themselves trailing 4-1 early in the opening set and quickly rebounded, responding with a massive run scoring nine of the next 11 points. 

First-year outside hitter Kate Maley led the charge, accounting for three of the points with a kill and two aces, while fourth-year opposite hitter Esma Ajanovic spurred a strong six-point run for Loyola as they took a commanding 16-8 lead. Maley continued to add to her kill count and propelled the Ramblers to a 25-15 win in the first set.

Marist started strong in the second set, recording two kills, from Taylor Miller and Alyssa White, and an ace by Sara Dasic to jump out to a 3-0 lead. Loyola sparked a 7-2 run after the Red Foxes’ hot start thanks to three Marist attack errors. Third-year middle blocker Ann Marie Remmes and graduate outside hitter Marta Cvitkovic produced back-to-back kills to give the Ramblers their first lead of the set at 8-6.

Loyola never looked back as another six unanswered points opened the Rambler lead up to 15-8. The rest of the set was back-and-forth as neither team scored more than two consecutive points. Key kills from fourth-year outside hitter Olivia Lovett delivered points 23 and 24 for Loyola and they won set two 25-17 off a final attack error from Marist.

Set three was Loyola’s final set of the day and an opening ace by Cvitkovic set the tone. Despite Marist tying the set twice at 2-2 and 3-3, the Red Foxes wouldn’t lead for the rest of the match. After Marist tied it up 3-3 Loyola went on a 3-0 run ignited by kills from Maley and Remmes and an error on the Red Foxes. From that point on Marist never mustered a streak longer than two points.

Five more errors from Marist kept them out of the set as Loyola’s lead reached 14-10. Following consecutive kills from second-year outside hitter Kaley Board, the final seven Loyola points came off Marist errors, as the Ramblers closed out the set 25-18, completing the sweep over the Red Foxes.

Sept. 7 vs Western Kentucky

Loyola went into day two facing off against a challenging opponent in Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers have received votes for the NCAA Division 1 Top 25 ranking. 

Loyola got off to a fast start after the Hilltoppers committed three errors on the attack, opening the match up for Cvitkovic who delivered her first of seven aces on the day. After three more errors from Western Kentucky propelled Loyola to a 10-3 lead, the Hilltoppers clawed back to within three points before a 10 point, unanswered eruption from the Ramblers.

Another three aces from Cvitkovic put the lead out of reach for the Hilltoppers. Following the run, the Ramblers coasted to a 25-15 win in the first set.

Set two opened differently for the Ramblers, as the Hilltoppers took a 5-1 lead after four Loyola errors. The lead grew to 9-2 in favor of Western Kentucky, despite strong efforts from Cvitkovic and second-year middle blocker Avary DeBlieck, who scored key kills pulling Loyola within four on three separate occasions, at 11-7, 12-8 and 13-9.

The four-point difference was the closest Loyola got during the second set as Western Kentucky scored another four straight to take a 17-9 lead. They added on further with a 4-2 run after consecutive Loyola attack errors helped make it 21-11. 

Loyola did outscore the Hilltoppers for the rest of the set 5-4 thanks to an ace each by Remmes and Board and kills from fourth-year setter Bree Borum and Cvitkovic, but it was too little too late as Western Kentucky took the second set 25-16.

Set three was the closest set of the day, with six different lead changes and ties during play. After three straight aces from Cvitkovic, the Ramblers led 14-11, but Western Kentucky fought back to tie it at 18.

Loyola managed to reach set point with a 24-23 lead, but a three-point rally by the Hilltoppers pushed them over the edge as they took a 2-1 set lead.

After an impressive third set, Western Kentucky turned on the heat and pushed Loyola to the edge after an 11-2 run gave them an eight-point lead at 12-4. 

Following the run, Western Kentucky scored seven straight points while Loyola was only able to muster a singular point for the rest of the set. Western Kentucky dominated the set with a resounding 25-9 win, putting Loyola’s season record just below .500 at 2-3.

Despite the loss, Cvitkovic had a terrific day, filling the stat sheet with eight kills — one kill away from tying her career high —  along with seven aces, and 11 digs.

Loyola head coach Amanda Berkley said Cvitkovic’s efforts helped throw off the Hilltoppers.

“I thought Marta had a very good match and did a great job serving,” Berkeley said. “She was able to get WKU out of system, and she did a great job attacking their defense.”

Sept. 8 at Michigan State

The final challenge of the weekend for the Ramblers saw them face off against hosts, Michigan State University.

Set one started evenly with the Ramblers and Spartans going back-and-forth until back-to-back kills from Michigan State’s second-year middle blocker Zuzanna Kulig and fourth-year outside hitter Aliyah Moore gave them a 9-5 lead. After more neck-and-neck play, the Spartans further expanded their lead thanks to four straight points off two kills and two aces from fourth-year Rachel Muisenga, expanding their lead to 17-11. 

Loyola tried to mount a comeback with a 4-1 run started by a kill from Ajanovic made it 19-16, though the only subsequent points the Ramblers produced during the remainder of the set were off Michigan State errors as the Ramblers fell short in set one 25-19.

A kill each from Ajanovic and Cvitkovic, and two from Maley gave the Ramblers a fast start in the second set, jumping ahead to an 8-4 lead. A 3-0 Michigan State run cut the lead, bringing the sides within two at 13-11.

An ace from Bree Borum triggered a 4-0 Rambler run as they raced out to a 17-11 lead which held, despite a late Michigan State rally attempt, taking set two 25-22.

The Spartans dominated the third set after starting with a 5-0 lead. Loyola struggled to gain ground from there as Michigan State went on another run, this time 5-2 after two errors from the Ramblers making it 14-7. 

Both teams were unable to get consecutive points until an ace from Michigan State put them up 18-10. Loyola didn’t move any closer as they fell behind 24-15. 

Before the Spartans completely shut the door, Ajanovic, who supplied a career high 16 kills, brought Loyola back into the fray with a 5-0 run to shrink the Michigan State lead to 24-20, only for the Spartans to put the game away for good after the rally 25-20.

Similar to the prior set, Michigan State jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead. But four kills from Ajanovic, two from Remmes and another kill added by Maley kept the Ramblers in it, alongside an ace from first-year libero Sam Falk. Five Michigan State errors boosted an 11-5 Rambler run that put the lead in Loyola’s favor at 16-15. 

Five ties occurred before the end of the match, and Michigan State held a late 24-22 lead going into match point. The winning kill was delivered by third-year Michigan State middle blocker Nil Okur, ending the set 25-23.

Berkeley discussed the team’s strong efforts despite losing results against quality opponents.

“We are right there against some quality teams,” Berkley said.  “But we just have to limit errors at crucial times and find a way to expand our hitting window.”

The Ramblers will look to get back in the win column Friday Sept. 13, when they host the University of Utah and Northeastern University at the Loyola Invitational. Play starts at 6 p.m. in Gentile Arena, along with the second annual Gentile Jamboree. All matches can be streamed on ESPN+.