SIU volleyball drops 4-setter to Loyola for season sweep
Head volleyball coach Justin Ingram addresses his team during a timeout at Loyola’s 3-1 victory against the Salukis on Friday, Oct. 28, 2016, in Davies Gym. (Sean Carley | @SCarleyDE)
October 28, 2016
Saluki volleyball has been swept by a conference opponent for the first time this season.
Loyola got the best of SIU for the second time, three sets to one. It is the Salukis’ first loss in Davies Gym this year.
Junior outside hitter Abby Barrow (11) and junior middle hitter Alex Rosignol (10) were the only Salukis to reach double-digit kills.
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SIU was without one of its key players once again as senior setter/hitter Meg Viggars recovers from a broken finger.
Things looked good for the Dawgs early as they launched out to a 17-9 lead in the first set.
SIU (17-9, 8-4 Missouri Valley Conference) was even two points away from clinching the set before Loyola (11-14, 6-6 MVC) rattled off six straight points to win 25-23.
Freshman setter Delilah Wolf had three service aces for the Ramblers as part of that 6-0 run.
Rambler freshman outside hitter Quinn Spieker had four of her nine kills in the set.
Despite Loyola stealing the first set from SIU’s grasp, the Salukis came back strong in the second to even the match at one set a piece after a 25-16 set victory.
SIU forced nine Ramblers errors in set two, causing Loyola to post a .000 hit percentage in the set. At one point Spieker committed four attack errors in a row.
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From then on it was a back-and-forth grudge match.
The lead changed hands six times in the third set, but the Ramblers pulled away late for a 25-20 set victory.
Sophomore outside hitter Gabi Maciagowski had seven of her match-high 22 kills in the set. Twenty-two kills tied a career-high for her.
Neither team had a lead larger than three points in the final set, but a late 6-2 run for Loyola gave it a lead it would not relinquish to clinch a 25-22 set victory.
SIU actually outhit Loyola .233 to .215, but Loyola had 15 more attempts.
The loss drops SIU into a tie for fourth in the MVC with Illinois State. The Dawgs will take on ninth-place Bradley at 7 p.m. Saturday in Davies Gym.
Sports editor Sean Carley can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @SCarleyDE.
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