Women’s Volleyball Defeats Saint Louis in Four Sets

The Loyola women’s volleyball team downed Saint Louis University in four sets Tuesday, Oct. 1. The Ramblers hit .235 and recorded 59 kills, in the 3-1 victory in Gentile Arena. 

Set one began with a 3-2 Loyola run — an early lead they maintained throughout the set — including two kills by third-year middle blocker Ann Marie Remmes and a team block by first-year outside hitter Kate Maley and Remmes, before fourth-year libero Olivia Lovett hit the ball out of bounds on an attack error. 

Remmes and graduate outside hitter Marta Cvitkovic recorded kills before first-year libero Jae Fitting’s serve went into the net, putting the Ramblers ahead at 9-4. 

Saint Louis went on a brief scoring run, grabbing five consecutive points off Rambler attack errors and a block by first-year Billiken middle blocker Kayla Jansen, forcing Loyola to call a timeout.

The Billikens were able to tie the set at 12 off of errors from fourth-year right side hitter Esma Ajanovic and Cvitkovic. Loyola managed to pull ahead 16-13 after Ajanovic, Maley and second-year middle blocker Avary DeBlieck delivered clutch kills.

Maley and Cvitkovic added kills to the stat sheet before second-year Billiken middle blocker Trinity Luckett spiked the ball directly into the opening of the Ramblers’ formation, forcing a timeout with the Ramblers leading 23-21.

First-year Saint Louis outside hitter Addy Brus pushed the Ramblers to set point after failing on her serve. Ajanovic secured the deal with a kill, taking the first set for Loyola 25-22. 

The Billikens opened the second set on a hot streak, recording three unanswered points off of kills by graduate Billiken right-side Delaney Rice and Jansen, along with an attack error by Cvitkovic. Loyola responded with four unanswered points of their own, crediting kills to DeBlieck and Ajanovic before Lovett switched the serve on an attack error. 

The set stayed close with back-and-forth points until Saint Louis crept ahead by three at 11-8 before Loyola called a timeout. SLU continued to improve their momentum, and scored five more points to Loyola’s two before the Ramblers called another timeout down 16-10. 

The Ramblers attempted a comeback, scoring six more points off kills by Ajanovic, Remmes and fourth-year setter Bree Borum. Fitting recorded the first ace of the night before Borum slammed another ball for the kill. After the run, the Billikens called a timeout with Loyola now within three at 19-16. 

Saint Louis closed out the set 25-19 with three kills and two Loyola attack errors before Rice and Jansen teamed up and blocked Cvitkovic’s kill attempt. 

Loyola went on a 4-0 run to open the third set, with two aces by Cvitkovic and two Billiken attack errors. Brus got the Billikens on the board after she made a kill, but failed on her following service attempt, sending the ball right into the net. The Billikens called an early timeout down 6-3.

Remmes dealt back-to-back kills to extend the Loyola lead to three, while Fitting went on a four-serve streak, concluding with an ace before Luckett and Billikens’ outside hitter Evelyn Fitz Hale blocked a Rambler kill attempt. 

Cvitkovic and Borum paired kills to put Loyola ahead 14-6 before Remmes broke the point-streak on a service error. The Billikens managed to secure three more points before a timeout halted their run at 15-9.. 

Third-year Billiken outside hitter Irmak Gokcen and Brus traded kills with Ajanovic before Remmes fumbled a spike attempt. She redeemed herself a point later when she made a kill off of a Billiken. 

With the Ramblers ahead 22-16 and coming out of the final timeout of the set, an attack error by Gokcen was called under review by Saint Louis, but wasn’t overturned, putting Loyola within two of winning the set.

The Ramblers coasted through the end of the set with a kill by Cvitkovic and two Billiken service errors, securing the set win at 25-18. 

Loyola started the fourth set with a lead they’d never give up. The Ramblers jumped ahead at 4-1 thanks to Billiken attack errors and kills from Cvitkovic and Gokcen. A kill by Maley was overturned after a Saint Louis challenge, giving redshirt Billiken third-year setter Addie Lyon the opportunity to serve.

Saint Louis called a timeout down 10-6 but were unable to stop the Ramblers’ momentum with a Cvitkovic kill, a block by DeBlieck and an ace by Borum.  Luckett mishandled the ball before recording another kill. DeBlieck followed suit and secured two more kills for the Ramblers before a wall built of Maley and Ajanovic stopped a SLU kill attempt. 

The Ramblers quickly reached set point after going on a six-point run. The Billikens attempted a comeback, but were shut down as DeBlieck hit the final kill of the night, securing the 25-16 fourth set win and taking the 3-1 match win. 

Head coach Amanda Berkley said the win helped get the team back on track in Atlantic 10 play and the eventual postseason. 

“We want to build up to where we are playing our best volleyball at the end of the season,” Berkley said. “We just have to keep playing in these matches, we’re still figuring out our lineup and figuring out what are some things that we’ve got to get better at.” 

The Ramblers head on the road to face the University of Rhode Island Oct. 4-5, with games starting at 6 p.m. and 1 p.m. Streaming options have yet to be released.