Women’s Volleyball Ends Regular Season with a Win Against George Mason

Loyola women’s volleyball secured a road win against George Mason University in four sets to conclude Atlantic 10 (A10) regular season play. Second-year outside hitter Kaitlyn Burke spearheaded the win, tallying 13 kills. The Patriots’ first-year outside hitter Nia Thompson led the offense for George Mason with 15 kills. 

George Mason’s fourth-year outside hitter Haley Graetz got the offense going with a kill which was met with another from fourth-year middle blocker Ann Marie Remmes. After errors from both sides, a service ace from first-year outside hitter Leyna Nguyen had the set tied at three. 

Graetz responded with a service ace which was followed with a kill from George Mason’s second-year outside hitter Avery Booker. Burke tabbed two consecutive kills, and third-year setter Emma Henry tabbed a service ace, giving the Ramblers an 8-7 advantage.

Thompson and Nguyen swapped kills which incited a 3-0 run for the Patriots, including kills from Booker and redshirt first-year middle blocker Mia Hazelett and a block from Thompson. A kill from second-year outside hitter Kate Maley and a setting error by the Patriots made the score 11 apiece. 

First-year right side hitter Karli Molnau added a kill which prompted a 5-0 run for George Mason, consisting of a kill from redshirt second-year middle blocker Meredith Brown and four Rambler attack errors. 

The Patriots’ first-year setter Ava Cheney, Thompson and Graetz each added a kill, with the Ramblers gaining two points off of George Mason service errors. Nguyen brought some momentum to the Ramblers with a kill but was met with a kill from Thompson to further the Patriot lead to 21-15. 

Molnau tallied a block and a kill before George Mason went on a 4-0 run — consisting of two kills each from Thompson and Booker — ending the first set 25-18.

The Ramblers turned around their offense and started the second set with a 5-1 run, including a kill from Burke, a block from third-year middle blocker Avary DeBlieck and a service ace from Remmes. Thompson and Brown combated with a kill each, but another Burke kill gave the Ramblers a 6-3 advantage. 

Molnau tallied a kill which Brown answered with one of her own. George Mason’s third-year libero Autumn Martinez-Robinson scored a service ace which was negated by a block from DeBlieck. 

Hazelett tabbed a kill and a block along with a block from Graetz. A 5-1 run for Loyola included kills from second-year outside hitter Claire Van Den Herik, Remmes and Burke. Graetz made an attempt to spark the Patriots’ offense with a kill, but Burke responded with a kill, putting the Ramblers up at 15-12. 

The Patriots went on a 5-0 run, including a kill from Booker and Thompson and Rambler attack errors. DeBlieck tabbed a kill and a block from Burke, and DeBlieck brought the score to 17 each. 

Thompson and Brown each tabbed a kill which DeBlieck met with a kill and block. Molnau and Thompson traded kills, but a George Mason error gave Loyola a set point. A bad set from the Patriots closed out set two with a final score of 25-20. 

Burke and Brown traded kills to start the third set. The Ramblers found their stride in a 13-1 run, including kills from Burke, Van Den Herik, Molnau and DeBlieck. On the defensive side, the Ramblers scored two blocks, one credited to Molnau and DeBlieck and the other to Molnau and Remmes. The lone kill for Thompson brought it to 15-4. 

The Patriots’ third-year setter Camryn Weldon tabbed a service ace which was negated by two George Mason attack errors. Remmes and Burke exchanged kills with Hazelett and Graetz to increase the Rambler lead to 20-9. 

Graetz and DeBlieck traded kills before Thompson tallied a kill. The Patriots added another point with a block from Brown and Cheney. Back-to-back Molnau kills and a block from DeBlieck and Van Den Herik gave the Ramblers set point at 24-13. 

Cheney tallied a kill, but a block from Van Den Herik and DeBlieck closed out the third set for the Ramblers with a final score of 25-14. 

A service ace from Nguyen was followed by a kill from the Patriots’ third-year outside hitter Caroline Rodriguez. Remmes and Burke added a block which was followed by two Burke kills and a kill from Molnau. A Rambler service ace, followed by another Burke kill put the Ramblers up at 6-3. 

A kill from Thompson incited a 6-1 run for Loyola,  including kills from Remmes, Molnau and Van Den Herik along with service aces from second-year defensive specialist Jae Fitting and Falk. Graetz and Remmes swapped kills, but the Ramblers maintained a lead at 13-6. 

Remmes and Burke tallied a block which was followed by a DeBlieck kill. Three Rambler attack errors combined with a Thompson kill gave the Patriots some energy, but DeBlieck and Molnau each tabbed a kill to increase Loyola’s lead to 18-11.

A 5-1 run for George Mason included kills from Thompson and Graetz as well as two blocks from Hazelett. Fitting responded with another service ace, which Nguyen followed with two consecutive service aces to give Loyola match point. A kill from Remmes closed out the match with a final score of 25-18. 

Head coach Amanda Berkley said she was proud of her team for coming back after losing the first set. 

“Another good team win today,” Berkley said. “A few players really stepped up and took advantage of the moment. I thought George Mason came in fired up for senior night, and we did a good job getting back focused after set one.”

The Ramblers will head to Richmond, Va. to compete in the A10 Championship starting Nov. 21. Loyola was seeded second and will bypass the first round of play. Streaming will be available on ESPN+.