Women’s Volleyball Reverse Sweep Dukes to head to A10 Championship

Loyola women’s volleyball completed a reverse sweep against Duquesne University Nov 22 in Richmond, Va. in the second round of the Atlantic 10 (A10) tournament. Second-year outside hitter Kaitlyn Burke led the charge for the Ramblers with 21 kills, and second-year outside hitter Emersen Schrom had the offensive hot hand for the Dukes with 28 total kills. 

First-year outside hitter Leyna Nguyen and Burke swapped kills with Schrom to start the first set. A 6-1 run for the Ramblers included kills from second-year outside hitter Claire Van Den Herik, third-year middle blocker Avary DeBlieck and Burke. The single point for the Dukes was off a kill from Schrom, giving the Ramblers an 8-3 lead. 

The Dukes responded with a 6-1 run of their own, which consisted of kills from fourth-year middle blocker Ariel Helm, fourth-year outside hitter Carsyn Henschen and third-year middle blocker Jordan Robertson, along with a service ace from third-year setter Chloe Wilmot. Fourth-year middle blocker Ann Marie Remmes scored the lone kill to even the set at nine. 

Remmes and Burke each tabbed kills, which were combated with kills from Schrom. A 6-0 run for Duquesne included two kills from Helm, a block from Schrom and Helm, a service ace from fourth-year defensive specialist Maggie Colenbrander, as well as attack errors from Loyola to give the Dukes a 17-13 advantage. 

First-year right side hitter Karli Molnau, Remmes and Burke tallied kills, along with a service ace from second-year libero Sam Falk. The Dukes’ third-year right side hitter Kylie Griffin, Helm and Robertson added kills for Duquesne. An exchange of kills between Burke and Schrom gave the Dukes a set point at 24- 21. 

Burke tabbed two kills and Molnau grabbed one as a Duke attack error brought the Ramblers back in, giving Loyola a set point at 25-24. A 3-0 Duquesne run, including kills from Schrom and Henschen gave the Dukes the first set with a final score of 27-25. 

DeBlieck and Remmes started off the second set with a kill each, and Schrom and Henschen responded with kills for Duquesne. A block from Van Den Herik followed by a kill from third-year setter Emma Henry and Burke gave the Ramblers a 7-3 advantage.

Helm and Griffin traded kills with Remmes and DeBlieck which prompted a 10-1 run for Duquesne featuring kills from Robertson, Schrom and Henschen. The single point for the Ramblers came from Nguyen, but the Dukes gained a 17-12 lead. 

Two kills from Remmes gave Loyola some momentum, but it was met with kills from Helm, Schrom and Henschen as well as a service error from Colenbrander. An attack error from Duquesne was the last Rambler point before two kills from Schrom gave the Dukes set point, and a Rambler attack error put Duquesne up two sets to none with a final score of 25-15. 

Robertson and Helm traded kills with DeBlieck and Molnau to commence the third set. Schrom tabbed a service ace and kill, which prompted a 7-1 run for Loyola. The run included kills from Molnau, Remmes and Van Den Herik to give the Ramblers an 11-6 lead. 

A 5-0 run for Duquesne consisted of kills from Griffin, Robertson, Schrom and Henschen. A service error from the Dukes and a kill from Schrom evened the set at 12 apiece. DeBlieck and Burke followed, swapping kills with Schrom. 

Van Den Herik tallied two kills, which was met with errors from both sides. Griffin and Schrom scored a kill each, which incited a 5-0 Rambler run, including kills from Remmes and Henry and a service ace from Nguyen to make the score 24-19 and give the Ramblers set point. 

A Schrom kill gave the Dukes some energy, but the third set was closed out with a kill from Burke and a final score of 25-20.

The fourth set started with Schrom and Henschen swapping kills with DeBlieck and Molnau. Remmes and Molnau added kills for Loyola, which Schrom and Griffin met with kills for the Dukes. Kills from Griffin and Henschen were negated by two Duke attack errors and followed by a Burke kill. Two kills from Molnau and a service ace from Falk gave the Ramblers a 12-11 advantage. 

Schrom tallied two kills but it wasn’t enough to combat a kill from Molnau and back-to-back service aces from second-year defensive specialist Jae Fitting. Remmes and Burke kept the offense hot, grabbing four kills. Griffin added a kill for Duquesne but Loyola held the lead at 20-15. 

Molnau and DeBlieck swapped kills with Schrom and Henschen and an attack error from the Dukes gave Loyola set point at 24-19, and a kill from Remmes sent the semi final to the fifth set. 

Schrom and Helm got the Dukes fired up, tallying three kills but were met with a block from DeBlieck and Burke, along with a kill from Molnau. Schrom scored a kill followed by a service ace but was countered with three consecutive kills from Remmes to give the Ramblers a 6-5 advantage. 

The Duke’s fourth-year defensive specialist Madison Grimm tallied a service ace which was followed by a Schrom kill. Remmes met that with a kill and a block assisted by Van Den Herik. Griffin and Burke traded kills to tie the set at 10. 

A Burke kill and a service ace from Henry along with a Duquesne error gave the Ramblers the momentum. Despite a kill from Robertson, a Molnau kill gave Loyola match point and Van Den Herik closed it out with a kill, making the final score 15-11. 

Head coach Amanda Berkley said she was proud of the team for pulling out the tough win after being down two sets. 

“What a match,” Berkley said. “Duquesne really brought it today. They played incredible with a lot of fight and grit. I thought our team showed resiliency and gritty play. I am really proud of the team for turning it around after set two. [Burke] had an unbelievable match. She played hard from the first point. [Remmes] was great offensively, and I thought [Falk] did well defensively, digging some very hard hit balls.”

The Ramblers will head to the NCAA tournament Friday, Dec. 5 in Louisville, Ky. to face the seventh seeded University of Louisville. Streaming will be available on ESPN+.