Women’s Volleyball Drops Two of Three at Western Michigan University Invite

Loyola women’s volleyball came away with only one win in three matches at the Western Michigan Invite in Kalamazoo, Michigan Aug. 30 to Sept. 1. Loyola’s competitors at the event included Clemson University, hosts Western Michigan University and Loyola Marymount University.

Aug. 30 vs Clemson 

Loyola’s season opener against Clemson was the worst result of the weekend, as the Ramblers were swept in three sets. Loyola started the first set with a pair of kills from graduate outside hitter Marta Cvitkovic and second-year middle blocker Avary DeBlieck along with a Clemson error to jump out to a three-point advantage, but Clemson quickly fired back to bring themselves level.

After exchanging several points back-and-forth, Loyola captured their last lead of the first set, ahead 9-8, before the Tigers went on a five-point run to put some distance between the sides. Clemson maintained a steady lead leaving the Ramblers able to get back only within two, before the set finished 25-20 in Clemson’s favor.

In the second set, both teams exchanged a series of points before the Ramblers snatched an 8-4 lead, bolstered by a kill and two aces from Cvitkovic. Clemson clawed back, scoring eight unanswered points and earning their own four point advantage. 

Both teams exchanged three-point runs before Clemson went on another dominant run, scoring seven straight. The Ramblers attempted to respond as Cviktovic recorded two kills and DeBlieck and fourth-year setter Bree Borum tallied one each, but Clemson’s first-year pin attacker Neea-Maria Joki put the comeback to rest with a kill, concluding the set 25-16.

Clemson jumped out early in the final set, going on a 7-1 run. Loyola added three straight to bring the score to 7-4, the closest point differential of the set. The Ramblers, led by a valiant effort from Borum, were only able to tack on seven more points against a concentrated Tiger attack to bring the score to 20-11, before Clemson scored five straight to secure the sweep.

Loyola fell short to the Tigers in every statistical category, with the biggest gap seen in the Ramblers’ 21 errors to Clemson’s eight, alongside a poor .086 hitting percentage. Individually, Cvitkovic led the Ramblers in kills with 10, Borum recorded 20 assists and first-year libero Jae Fitting recorded a team-high nine digs.

Aug. 31 vs Western Michigan

The next day, the Ramblers fell short again, losing to Western Michigan three sets to one. In the first set, both teams battled to a 7-6 Bronco lead – which featured a kill from first-year outside hitter Kate Maley in her first career start – before Loyola kicked off a three-point run. Western Michigan responded in kind with a four-point run to put them back up by two.

Loyola continued to hammer away, with both teams tying at 11, 15 and 16 points apiece in an exchange that saw several short runs. After both teams tied again at 17, another back-and-forth exchange involved both teams trading three points each to reach 20-20. The first set came to a close soon after the exchange as Western Michigan captured the first set with a 5-2 run and a 25-22 scoreboard finish.

The second set opened with another back-and-forth start until the Broncos managed to secure a four-point run to bring the score to 8-4. Both teams continued to battle it out, with neither team able to capitalize on more than two straight points until the score reached 18-16 in Western Michigan’s favor.

Loyola finally started a run of their own with four straight to reach the 20 point mark first, but Western Michigan responding with three straight to put themselves back up one. The two teams found themselves tied at 23 apiece, but a Bronco error and a game-finishing kill from third-year middle blocker Ann Marie Remmes gave the Ramblers their first set win of the season.

The third set saw another opening battle, as the lead changed six times before the teams tied at 10. Three more lead changes saw the teams tie again eight points later at 18 before the Broncos scored seven straight points to secure a 25-18 set victory.

The fourth and final set of the evening began with Western Michigan grabbing a three-point run before Loyola responded with five unanswered of their own. The two teams continued to battle until Loyola captured a 7-6 lead, only for the Broncos to go on another run with six consecutive points to gain a 13-7 advantage.

Western Michigan continued to pile on, securing a 9-2 run to add insurance to their lead. Borum led a Loyola attempt to bring themselves back into contention but were only able to reach 15 points before the Broncos killed a set point to earn a 25-15 victory and the series win.

Loyola managed to record more assists and attempts, but also recorded more errors and a lower hitting percentage in comparison to the Broncos. Despite the result, Borum had a standout performance, notching a double-double with 39 assists and 13 digs, and just fell short of a triple double with nine kills.

Sept. 1 vs Loyola Marymount

Loyola secured their first victory of the season in the final day of tournament action, with a three set sweep of the Loyola Marymount Lions.

In the first set, both teams came out firing, with Loyola Marymount slightly ahead 6-5. The lead didn’t last long as the Ramblers recorded a seven-point run, giving them a lead they’d hold for the rest of the set. After more single point exchanges, the Lions attempted to respond with a four-point run, but continued to be rebuked, only managing to get within two at 14-12.

After several more single-point exchanges, the Ramblers found themselves at match point with the score 24-19. Loyola Marymount staged a late four-point rally with three kills and a Rambler error, but a kill from DeBlieck gave Loyola their first set win of the match.

Loyola Marymount came out strong for the second set, going on a 6-3 run before time was paused for substitutions. The Lions maintained a lead of 10-8, only for the Ramblers to explode for seven straight unanswered. 

Loyola took the lead for the last change of the set, with two points being the closest the Lions managed to get back in contention. After Loyola Marymount gave the Ramblers set point at 24-21, the Lions managed to get off one final point before Maley finished the set with a kill.

The final set saw the Ramblers maintain a lead from the first serve, with both teams battling until the score reached 14-10. Five straight from the Lions gave them their first lead of the set, which they held until the score was tied at 19.

The Lions’ defense of their lead finally collapsed with Remmes, Maley, Borum and Cvitkovic chipping in for a four-point run to bring the score to 23-19. Kills by Maley and Borum secured the Rambler victory, as the tournament drew to a close with the match finishing 25-21.

Loyola led in every team statistic but aces, and significantly limited their errors compared to previous games with 14. Maley recorded the most kills with 10, Borum recorded 30 assists for her second game in a row and Fitting led the team with 15 digs.

The Ramblers’ next contest will be on the road at the Michigan State Invitational in East Lansing, Michigan Sept. 6-8. Tournament results can be found at the Loyola Athletics website.