Ramblers Stumble vs. Flyers – Loyola University Chicago Athletics

DAYTON, Ohio – Loyola Chicago saw its win streak come to an end Friday night as the No. 22 Dayton Flyers swept the Ramblers, 3-0. Bree Borum and Esma Ajanovic each tallied seven kills to lead Loyola.
 
With the loss, the Ramblers fall to 9-8 overall and 5-2 in A-10 play.
 
“I thought Dayton came ready to play and played like a ranked team,” said head coach Amanda Berkley. “We need to do a better job of defending their attack. Additionally, we have to serve tougher to get them out of system more. Proud of the team for turning it around in the third set and competing.”
 
Borum added a team-best 13 assists and nine digs. Olivia Lovett matched the nine digs as a team-best.
 
Avary DeBlieck had four blocks, while Ann Marie Remmes had five kills in the middle.
 
How It Happened
Set One: The Flyers were hot from the start, opening the match on an 8-3 tear with kills from three different Flyers. DeBlieck helped the Ramblers post back-to-back points cutting the lead to four, 12-8. Dayton used a series of 3-0 runs to halt Loyola’s progress and jump ahead, 21-13. Marta Cvitkovic would get one final kill for Loyola making it 21-14, but Dayton pulled away with the win, 25-16.
 
Set Two: The Flyers continued to dominate into set two scoring the first six unanswered and eventually taking a 9-1 edge. They increased their lead to double-figures with the help of a Taylor Russell kill and Loyola attack error on two straight points, 12-2. Loyola couldn’t get the lead under 10 despite effort from Borum and Remmes, allowing the Flyers to cruise 25-10 in the second.
 
Set Three: The Ramblers came alive in the third set immediately forcing a 3-3 tie highlighted by a kill from Ajanovic to open the action. The Flyers gained some separation with a 4-1 run to take a 9-5 edge. Loyola chipped away and used kills from Cvitkovic and Ajanovic to cut the lead down to one, 12-11. Remmes and Borum then teamed up for back-to-back kills, tying it 14 all. Borum stayed hot with two straight kills, swinging the lead 16-15. The Ramblers kept their rhythm and used a 4-0 run to pull ahead by three, but the Flyers wouldn’t give up. Dayton fought back to tie the set at 23-23 with a Lexie Almodovar kill. She would tie it two more times with the final time sparking a 3-0 run to take the set, 27-25.
 
Up Next
The Ramblers and Flyers meet again Saturday at 1 pm CT.