Ramblin’ Into History: Women’s Volleyball Advances to Second Round of NCAA Tournament

Loyola women’s volleyball secured their first NCAA tournament win in program history, sweeping fifth-seeded Brigham Young University in three sets Dec. 5. The Ramblers maintained a .277 hitting percentage. 

Loyola came out strong, consistently staying two points ahead of the Cougars. With BYU errors and two fast kills by fourth-year rightside Esma Ajanovic, the Ramblers gained an early 6-4 lead. 

Strong defense from both teams ignited long rallies. Kills by graduate outside Marta Cvitcovic and Ajanovic brought the score to nine apiece. 

The Cougars gained a two-point lead before kills by fourth-year outside Olivia Lovett and third-year middle Ann Marie Remmes made the Cougars lead 13-12. 

The Ramblers then went on a 5-1 run consisting of Cougar service errors, a service ace by Ajanovic and a solo block by second-year middle Avary Deblieck, leading BYU to call a timeout behind 17-14.

Out of the timeout, fourth-year setter Bree Borum won a joust at the net. Continuous Cougar attack errors forced BYU to take their second timeout down three points. 

DeBlieck gained back-to-back points before three Cougar kills cut the Ramblers’ lead to 23-20t.

Loyola ultimately took the first set after a Cougar service error was followed by a service ace by first-year libero Sam Falk.

Ajanovic and Borum sparked effective offensive play for the Ramblers, their kills gave the Ramblers a 4-2 lead to start the second set.

Strong defense by second-year defensive specialist Jordan Bruckner and Falk kept the Ramblers alive during long rallies. Loyola padded a 5-3 lead with a Borum kill. 

BYU attack errors and a Cvitkovic kill kept the Ramblers up 7-5 The Ramblers remained ahead for the majority of the set.

After Cvitkovic gained another kill and the Cougars recorded several service errors and a net violation, Loyola’s lead stood at 14-11.

BYU called timeouts in quick succession after suffering kills from DeBlieck and Lovett, and recorded multiple service errors.

Out of the second timeout, Deblieck hammered a momentum-swinging block, and Cvitkovic followed with a kill to make it 23-18. A service error by BYU gave Loyola gamepoint before DeBlieck iced the 25-21 set with a kill.

The Ramblers started the third set with a 5-1 run, which featured kills by DeBlieck and Ajanovic along with a Falk ace. In response BYU took their first timeout early in the set. 

Loyola followed with a three-point run consisting of BYU errors and a Remmes kill, gaining a 7-2 lead. 

The Cougars gained some momentum, but the Ramblers continued to rally with scrappy plays and two more kills by Ajanovic and Cvitkovic. 

After a BYU service ace, the Cougars closed the gap to 11-10. Loyola then went on a five-point run with kills by Cvitkovic and a massive block by Ajanovic and Deblick for a 15-10 lead. 

The Ramblers then gained another four consecutive points going up 20-12 on a kill by Lovett and an ace by Ajanovic. The win was in sight for the Ramblers as they continued to showcase strong defense with digs by Falk, Borum and Bruckner. 

On a serve by BYU, Borum set Cvitkovic and she swung down the line. The Cougars challenged the ball out and lost, giving Loyola the historic match win 25-17.

Loyola entered the contest on a thirteen-game win streak, having not dropped a set since Oct. 26.

Head coach Amanda Berkley said she was proud of the team for the effort they put in on and off the court. 

“I think they’ve been really committed this whole postseason run, and today they made plays,” Berkley said. “That’s been a theme of ours all season -– making plays. We saw a lot of players make plays, including Marta, Bree, Sam and Olivia. Everybody made plays today, and I am just so proud of this group.”

The Ramblers will face Purdue University, who advanced by sweeping Western Michigan, in the second round of the NCAA tournament Dec. 6 at 5 p.m. Streaming will be available on ESPN+.