Women’s Volleyball Falls to Purdue in Second Round of NCAA Tournament

Loyola women’s volleyball was swept in the second round of the NCAA tournament by fourth-seeded Purdue University Dec. 6, concluding the Ramblers’ season. 

A back-and-forth opening with two kills by fourth-year outside Olivia Lovett and kills by Purdue’s second-year outside Chloe Chicoine and fourth-year middle Raven Colvin gave the Boilermakers an early 5-3 lead.

The Ramblers consistently trailed by two points due to Purdue kills and Loyola attack errors. After back-to-back kills by fourth-year rightside Esma Ajanovic and Lovett, Loyola crawled back to lead briefly 11-10. 

To combat, the Boilermakers went on a six-point scoring run with blocks from Covin and kills from third-year outside Eva Hudson securing a 16-11 lead. 

Regaining momentum, the Ramblers secured a block by second-year middle Avary DeBlieck and fourth-year setter Bree Borum. The Ramblers had four blocks in one point to make it 17-13. 

The Ramblers gained back-to-back points on kills by graduate outside Marta Cvitkovic and DeBlieck. Down five and suffering from errors, Loyola took their first timeout. 

Purdue gained two kills out of the timeout, leading the Ramblers to take their second timeout down 22-16. 

At the end of the set, Ajanovic gained a kill and Cvitkovic captured a block, but the Boilermakers eventually won the first set 25-20. 

The Ramblers started the second set strong with a 5-0 scoring run consisting of two kills by Ajanovic and a block by third-year middle Ann Marie Remmes and Ajanovic. The Boilermakers then went on their own five-point run with two kills from Hudson and Colvin, prompting a Loyola timeout. 

Out of the timeout, Purdue gained three consecutive points for a 9-6 lead. A kill from Remmes followed by a Purdue error made it 9-8. 

After the Ramblers tied it at 11 after kills by DeBlieck and Borum, the Boilermakers gained four consecutive points, including a kill by Hudson, to make it 16-14. 

As the Boilermakers went on a three-point run to extend their lead the Ramblers continued to trail for the remainder of the set. 

Cvitkovic collected three kills, shrinking Purdue’s lead to 23-20. Loyola obtained one more point off an Ajanovic kill but ultimately came up shy after a Chicoine kill won the second set for Purdue 25-21.

The third set started off with an ace by Cvitkovic and a Purdue kill by Hudson. After back-to-back service errors, the set was tied at two. 

The Boilermakers then went on a 10-0 run consisting of two blocks and kills by Hudson, Chicoine and Colvin to make it 16-5.

Two kills from Ajanovic brought the Ramblers to 18-9, only to be cancelled out by two consecutive Boilermaker kills. 

Purdue gained two more back-to-back points, making it 20-9. The Boilermakers went on to close out the third set 25-12 with a kill from Chicoine. 

Regardless of the match’s outcome, head coach Amanda Berkley said she was thrilled with the team’s performance and with making history in the program. This is the first time the Ramblers have made it past the first round of the NCAA tournament.  

“This was a tough match for us,” Berkley said. “I thought Purdue played really well, but there were definitely moments of good play from our end today. I’m glad the entire volleyball world got to see our program play, beat BYU and make history. We believed we would be here tonight, and I am really proud of this group for this season, especially the last 14 matches.”