Loyola Women’s Volleyball Come Up Short Against DePaul in Five Sets

Loyola women’s volleyball fell to DePaul University in a five-set battle Sept. 18 at McGrath-Phillips Arena. Second-year outside Leyna Nguyen led the Ramblers with 21 kills while DePaul’s second-year outside hitter Kendall Timme led the Blue Demons with 15.

DePaul opened the first set with kills from Timme and first-year middle blocker Caroline Wright before Nguyen put the Ramblers on the board. Loyola third-year middle blocker Mallory Bohl added two kills, but the Blue Demons maintained an early advantage.

Nguyen, third-year outside Claire Van Den Herik and fourth-year middle blocker Avary DeBlieck contributed kills as Loyola attempted to close the gap. A service ace from fourth-year defensive specialist Jordan Bruckner and another kill from Nguyen eventually brought the Ramblers within two at 12-10.

Bohl and DeBlieck added kills before consecutive blocks from DeBlieck and Van Den Herik brought Loyola within one at 18-17. Loyola second-year rightside Katie Scherer later tied the set at 19 with a kill.

Two kills from Blue Demon’s second-year rightside Isabela Tavares-Salomon put DePaul back in front, but a block from Bohl and Scherer followed by a service ace from Ramblers third-year libero Sam Falk tied the set at 22. DePaul reached set point at 24-22 before Nguyen added a kill, but a Loyola service error ended the set 25-23.

The Ramblers opened the second set with a DeBlieck block, followed by a service ace from third-year libero Jae Fitting. Scherer and Nguyen added kills as Loyola jumped out to a 6-3 advantage.

A block from DeBlieck and Van Den Herik kept Loyola ahead 9-6. Scherer added two kills as DePaul errors allowed the Ramblers to extend their lead to 15-9.

A Nguyen service ace made it 17-10 before DeBlieck recorded back-to-back kills to give Loyola a 20-12 advantage. DePaul cut into the deficit late, but Nguyen ended the set with a kill to give Loyola a 25-20 victory and tie the match.

Scherer started the third set with a kill before Loyola third-year middle blocker Chloe Morgan and Nguyen followed with kills of their own. Two DePaul attack errors helped Loyola jump out to a 5-0 lead.

The Blue Demons worked their way back and three consecutive Timme kills tied the score at 10. A block from DeBlieck and Scherer put Loyola back ahead before Fitting added a kill.

Kills from Morgan and DeBlieck later put the Ramblers ahead 17-15. Scherer followed with another kill before a DeBlieck-Van Den Herik block extended Loyola’s lead to 20-15.

Two DePaul errors and another Scherer kill brought Loyola to set point at 24-16. The Blue Demons fought off three set points before a service error gave Loyola the third set 25-19 and a 2-1 match lead.

Tavares-Salomon opened the fourth set with a kill before Nguyen responded for Loyola. Morgan and Nguyen added kills, then a Nguyen service ace helped the Ramblers take an early 5-3 lead.

DePaul quickly turned the set around. Three consecutive service aces from DePaul fourth-year setter Leonor Polezzi helped transform a 7-7 tie into a 12-7 Blue Demon lead. 

A DeBlieck and Van Den Herik block briefly stopped the run, but DePaul continued to build its advantage. Nguyen responded with consecutive kills before Scherer added another, cutting the score to 18-13.

Nguyen and Van Den Herik attempted to close the gap with kills, and Loyola third-year setter Mya Ball recorded a service ace before Tavares-Salomon ended the set with a kill, giving DePaul a 25-19 victory and forcing a fifth set.

DePaul took an early 2-0 lead in the deciding set before DeBlieck and Scherer responded with kills. Timme later added consecutive kills to extend the Blue Demons’ advantage to 6-3.

Nguyen responded with a kill, but back-to-back Tavares-Salomon kills helped send DePaul into the lead with an 8-5 advantage. DePaul then extended its lead to 11-6 before the Ramblers began to rally.

DeBlieck recorded two kills and Nguyen added another before a Morgan-Nguyen block brought Loyola within two at 13-11. Timme recorded an attack error before Blue Demons third-year middle blocker Jade Dudley-Epps answered with a kill to bring DePaul to match point.

Nguyen fought off the first match point with her 21st kill of the night, but Epps responded with the final kill to close the fifth set 15-13 and secure DePaul’s 3-2 victory.

The loss dropped Loyola to 3-7 on the season. Head Coach Amanda Berkley reflected on the difficult nonconference stretch and said the Ramblers will need to use those experiences as they move forward.

“I’m disappointed with today’s loss. We have to be more disciplined and push harder in practice to execute better,” Berkeley said. “We had a really tough nonconference schedule, and we’ll apply what we’ve learned and translate that into some wins.”

The Ramblers will start conference play and take on Virginia Commonwealth University Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. in Gentile Arena. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.