Davidson Defeats Women’s Volleyball in Four Sets

Loyola women’s volleyball lost to Davidson College 3-1 in their second meeting Oct. 18. Second-year outside hitter Kaitlyn Burke led the way for the Ramblers tallying 18 kills, and Davidson’s third-year outside hitter Elena Garcia-Guerrios kept the Wildcats offense going with 13 kills. 

Third-year Wildcat middle blocker Mia Compas grabbed two consecutive kills to start the Wildcats scoring. Second-year libero Jae Fitting responded with a service ace which Burke followed with a kill. 

Davidson responded with fourth-year Wildcat right side hitter Emma Slusser tabbing a kill, which fourth-year Wildcat defensive specialist Jordan Hummel added to with back-to-back service aces, giving Davidson a 5-3 lead. 

First-year outside hitter Leyna Nguyen and Burke combated with kills for the Ramblers. Second-year libero Sam Falk added a service ace for Loyola which Slusser responded to with a kill. Burke and Garcia-Guerrios swapped kills as the Ramblers still led 8-7. 

A 4-0 run for the Ramblers included kills from fourth-year middle blocker Ann Marie Remmes, first-year right side hitter Karli Molnau and Nguyen. Davidson’s fourth-year outside hitter Anna Withee, Compas and Garcia-Guerrios tabbed kills for Davidson. 

The Wildcats went on an 8-0 run to gain an 18-14 lead. The run included a kill from Slusser, two service aces from Garcia-Guerrios, a block from Compas and three Rambler errors.

Burke ended the Wildcat run with a kill which Slusser matched with one of her own. Hummel tabbed another service ace and Davidson’s second-year outside hitter Meile Songaila grabbed her first kill for Davidson. A kill from Burke and two consecutive from Remmes gave the Ramblers some momentum, but kills from Garcia-Guerrios and Withee gave Davidson set point. 

A kill from Nguyen kept the Ramblers alive, but Garcia-Guerrios ended the first set with a kill making the final score 25-21. 

Burke and Ngueyn got the Rambler offense going in the second set, adding kills for the Ramblers. Songaila and Garcia-Guerrios did the same for the Wildcats, tying the second set at three. A 4-0 Loyola run followed, consisting of two Burke kills and two Wildcat attack errors. 

Nguyen and Molnau scored kills which were met by Songaila and Garcia-Guerrios adding a kill each. Molnau tabbed two more kills, along with a Burke kill, giving the Ramblers a 13-8 lead. 

Compas and Garcia-Guerrios blocked the ball, prompting a 6-1 Loyola run. The run included kills from second-year outside hitter Claire Van Den Herik, Burke and Remmes as well as a service ace from Fitting. Davidson’s second-year middle blocker Cayla Weisner and Withee combated the run with kills for the Wildcats. 

Third-year setter Emma Henry tallied a kill, which was met with a kill and service ace from first-year Wildcat outside hitter Ellie Ocampo. Molnau and Weisner traded kills, but a kill from third-year middle blocker Avary DeBlieck and Wildcat error gave the Ramblers set point. A kill from Burke tied the match at a set apiece with the final score being 25-15. 

A 4-1 run for the Wildcats started the third set including kills from Ocampo, Compas and Garcia-Guerrios. Burke and Nguyen attempted to combat kills from Davidson’s first-year setter Ylame Dsamou and Ocampo, but the Wildcats held an increasing 8-3 lead. 

Remmes tallied two kills, which was met by kills from Withee and Garcia-Guerrios. DeBlieck and Burke kept the offense running with a kill each, but Slusser and Ocampo did the same for Davidson. Another kill from Burke and Slusser gave Davidson a 17-9 lead. 

Dsamou tabbed a service ace, which Remmes responded to with a kill. Errors on both sides prompted a 5-0 run to give Davidson set point, encompassing kills from Weisner, Dsamou and Garcia-Guerrios as well as two Rambler errors. 

Remmes tried to hold the end of the set with a kill, but Withee put the Wildcats up with a kill and a final score of 25-13. 

Garcia-Guerrios and DeBlieck swapped kills to start the fourth set. Henry tabbed a kill which preceded an 8-0 run for Davidson consisting of kills from Compas and Ocampo and a block from Weisner and Slusser along with Rambler attack errors. 

Two Nguyen kills gave the Ramblers some momentum but Weisner responded with a kill for the Wildcats. Garcia-Guerrios tabbed another kill and — along with two Rambler errors — gave Davidson a 13-7 lead. Nguyen and Burke traded kills with Garcia-Guerrios but couldn’t outrun the Davidson offense with Compas grabbing another kill and Slusser tabbing a block putting the Wildcats up at 17-10. 

A kill from Burke was met by a 5-0 run for Davidson. The run included kills from Weisner and Ocampo as well as two blocks from Weisner and Slusser. Three Remmes kills negated some of the run, but two more Ocampo kills gave Davidson match point. 

A service ace from Ocampo gave the Wildcats the fourth set with a final score of 25-16 and the 3-1 match. 

Head coach Amanda Berkley was proud of the offense but wants the team to focus on playing on a more technical, collegiate level. 

“I thought [Burke], [Remmes] and [DeBlieck] did well offensively despite today’s outcome,” Berkley said. “Our challenge right now is to get more disciplined defensively and communicate at a higher level. Credit to Davidson for playing really well today and making plays.”

The Ramblers travel to Virginia Commonwealth University to take on the Rams Oct. 24 at 5 p.m. Streaming will be available on ESPN+.