Minnesota handed the Ramblers their third consecutive loss Sept. 19.
Minnesota handed the Ramblers their third consecutive loss Sept. 19.
The Loyola women’s volleyball team took on the University of Minnesota Sept. 19 in Gentile Arena. The Golden Gophers swept the Ramblers with first-year outside hitter Kelly Kinney tallying 12 kills. First-year outside hitter Leyna Nguyen led the Ramblers’ offense with 11 kills.
Minnesota’s redshirt first-year setter Stella Swenson scored two kills right out of the gate. Second-year outside hitter Kaitlyn Burke responded with two kills for the Ramblers. Kinney hit a kill, giving the Gophers a 3-2 lead.
A block by Minnesota’s graduate middle blocker Lourdès Myers and Kinney paired with a Rambler error furthered the Minnesota lead. Graduate right side hitter and setter Josie Halbleib and Swenson traded kills, putting the Gophers up 6-3.
First-year rightside hitter Karli Molnau and Nguyen added consecutive kills rebutted by kills from first-year Gopher right side hitter Carly Gilk and first-year Gopher middle blocker Jordan Taylor. Minnesota’s redshirt second-year outside hitter Alex Acevedo cemented the Gophers’ lead with a kill and service ace making it 11-6.
The Ramblers gained momentum from a block by third-year middle blocker Avary DeBlieck and Molnau as well as a solo stuff from DeBlieck. A kill by Burke narrowed the gap to 11-9.
Two Kinney kills and a Loyola attack error gave the Gophers their momentum back. Consecutive kills from Halbleib put the Ramblers within two while Myers and Kinney grabbed two more kills for a 15-10 Gopher lead.
Myers and Acevedo traded kills with Nguyen and Halbleib. A kill from fourth-year middle blocker Ann Marie Remmes followed by three Rambler errors brought the score to 20-16 in favor of the Gophers.
Acevedo, Kinney and Glik each grabbed a kill and — despite a service ace from first-year setter Ava Hunter — the Gophers were at set point. Glik scored the set winning kill with a final score of 25-19.
The second set started with a 3-1 run for the Gophers, consisting of three kills from Kinney and Acevedo. Scoring two kills each Nguyen and Kinney started the Loyola offense, but Minnesota still led 6-4.
Nguyen tabbed a service ace, followed by a Swenson kill and Myers block. After a Loyola timeout, Meyers and Remmes swapped kills and two Loyola errors furthered Minnesota’s lead at 12-6
Taylor, Glik and Acevedo kept the Gopher momentum going on a 6-0 run, prompting a Loyola timeout. Nguyen added a kill for the Ramblers which was met with a kill from Taylor, making it 21-6.
Even with a Remmes kill, an ace from Minnesota’s first-year libero McKenna Garr and two Glik kills gave the second set to the Gophers with a final score of 25-10.
A 3-0 run for the Gophers and Rambler errors started the third set. Burke and Nguyen each tallied a kill to put the Ramblers within one while Halbleib and Molnau balanced kills with Glik and Myers. Burke tied the set at six with a kill before Acevedo tallied two kills which were evened out by kills from Burke and Remmes.
Nguyen and Acevedo swapped a kill each but back-to-back kills from Kinney let the Gophers pull away. Despite a Nguyen kill, Rambler errors and a service ace by third-year defensive specialist Kate Thibault gave the Gophers a 17-12 lead.
Myers and Nguyen recorded kills, but two Loyola errors prompted a timeout. Even with another Nguyen kill, Swenson got the Gophers set point off a setter dump and Taylor closed out the match with a kill at 25-15.
Head coach Amanda Berkley commended Minnesota for the clean volleyball played and talked about what her team can learn from a nationally ranked team.
“Some of the things we need to learn from them is they played very clean,” Berkley said. “They didn’t make a lot of errors and didn’t give us a lot of points. They also played really good defense without many tips.”
The Ramblers next take on Fordham University Sept. 26 in The Bronx, NY at 4 p.m. Streaming will be available on ESPN+.
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