Women’s Volleyball Claims Second A10 Championship with Sweep Over Dayton

Loyola women’s volleyball secured a spot in this year’s NCAA Championship tournament, as they were crowned Atlantic 10 Conference Champions with a sweep over the University of Dayton. 

Head coach Amanda Berkley said she was incredibly proud of her team. 

“It feels incredible,” Berkley said. “I can’t even believe it, to be honest. What a performance by this group.” 

Dayton and Loyola have run in the league for the last three years and had played in the championship for all three. 

Though Dayton took the first point of the series on to an attack error by fourth-year outside hitter Olivia Lovett, the Ramblers started hot, capturing eight straight points. First-year libero Sam Falk added to the run with a service ace while the Ramblers piled on four kills. 

The Flyers ended the run with a kill by redshirt fourth-year outside hitter Lexie Almodovar to make it 8-2, but Lovett sent a kill right back. 

Loyola continued to dominate and earned three more consecutive points — two of those being kills from fourth-year setter Bree Borum — to put the Ramblers up at 13-3.  

The Ramblers and Flyers traded five points, with two kills from graduate outside hitter Marta Cvitkovic crossing the 15-point mark for the Ramblers.  

The teams continued to match each other point-for-point, but the Ramblers consistently remained up by at least nine for a rest of the set. Loyola continued to gain ground through kills — mostly from Cvitkovic and fourth-year right side and opposite hitter Esma Ajanovic. 

The Ramblers were up 20-9 after a forceful solo block by third-year middle blocker Ann Marie Remmes shut down Dayton’s redshirt fourth-year middle blocker Alayna Yates. 

Remmes had another block four points later, bringing the score to 22-11. Though Dayton started to gain momentum, earning three consecutive points, Loyola called a timeout. 

Borum brought her team to set point with a pushing kill, and Dayton ended a lengthy rally with a kill by Yates. 

Loyola took the first set of the championship game 25-17 after an attempted Dayton kill landed out of bounds. 

Loyola scored first in the second set with blocks by Ajanovic and second-year middle blocker Avary DeBlieck. Dayton achieved four consecutive points before the streak was halted by a Lovett kill. 

Loyola and Dayton traded points over a span of eight plays, including six kills from both sides and a remarkable dig by Cvitkovic. The Ramblers regained an 11-10 lead after a kill and ace by Cvitkovic, but the Flyers tied it again with an Almodovar kill. 

The two teams stayed close, as Dayton achieved two points in a row with kills by Almodovar, to which Remmes responded with a kill of her own. The two players then traded kills over the next three points, tying the score at 13. 

Loyola crept ahead by two, making the score 18-16 after a Dayton serve landed in the net. The Flyers swiftly tied it up at 18 after kills from Yates and Almodovar. 

Loyola gained three consecutive points on DeBlieck and Lovett kills, making it 22-20. 

Loyola eventually earned match point after an Ajanovic ace landed just in the corner of the Flyers’ side of the court. After Dayton received two points to make it 24-23, Remmes made the most of a kill to claim the second set 25-23. 

The third set presented the opportunity for the Ramblers to sweep Dayton and take the A10 championship title. 

It was just the second loss for Dayton this season and the first time they’ve fallen in A10 competition since Loyola captured the conference title over the Flyers in 2022.

Scoring in the third set began with two kills by Ajanovic and Lovett, and one by Almodovar. Shortly after, Almadavor performed three consecutive kills to put the Flyers up by one at 4-3. 

A long rally including multiple Borum saves ended in another point for Dayton — the last of a 4-0 scoring run. 

The Ramblers and Flyers traded eight points consisting of multiple kills by Borum and Dayton’s Yates to put Dayton ahead 10-9 — until the Flyers snuck ahead by earning three consecutive points. 

Loyola then called a timeout, gaining the next point on a Kaminski service error. The Ramblers, down 17-14, came back with six straight, undeterred by a Dayton timeout. 

With the Ramblers back in the lead, they were able to maintain momentum and fight off Dayton’s attacks. 

Dayton achieved their last point of the match at 22-19 after a Falk serve landed in the net.  

Loyola got to match point after an attempted Dayton kill fell out of bounds. With the victory nearly in hand, Lovett squarely smashed the ball into the Flyers’ side court, ending the A10 tournament with a strong kill. 

After Lovett’s striking finish, the rest of the Ramblers rushed onto the court to pull their team into a hug. Several of the girls were crying, and all of them were hugging and high fiving each other. All the Rambler fans could feel the excitement and love radiating from the team. 

Borum was awarded the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and named to the All-Championship team — along with Ajanovic, Lovett and Remmes.

“I’m almost going to tear up about her because I’m so proud of her,” Berkeley said of Borum. “I’m so glad she came to Loyola. She played her butt off, and she’s an amazing player.” 

Throughout the tournament, Loyola ran points off their opponent, and Berkley said serving was a large reason why they are able to do so. Falk was a notably aggressive server during the tournament, according to Berkley. 

Though Loyola had 37 kills and Dayton 36, Loyola dominated with a .209 hitting percentage to Dayton’s .114, and both teams had 50 digs. 

Loyola will hit the road for the first round of the NCAA championships, where they’ll be competing Dec. 5 in Louisville. Streaming information is yet to be determined.