Oct. 15, 2005

Box Score

Youngstown, Ohio - Junior Courtney Ashley had 15 kills and 10 digs as a focused Loyola team swept Youngstown State, 3-0 (30-24, 30-17, 30-27), this afternoon at Beeghley Center in Youngstown, Ohio. The win comes on the heels of an uncharacteristic performance last night in a 3-0 at Cleveland State.

"I am certainly happy with the way we bounced back today," said head coach Marcie Bomhack. "We had a good flow on the floor today and that's something I am hoping we can maintain."

Game one was tight early on, with Loyola able to maintain a slight lead into the middle of the set. After a Penguin error gave Loyola service and a 14-11 lead, the Ramblers were able to reel off three more points behind the serve of Keily Zins to open up a 17-11 advantage. Youngstown was able to pull within two on a pair of occasions (20-18, 21-19) but the Ramblers never wavered and closed out the game at the net with a block from Hilary Stromath and Audrey Davis.

After spotting Youngstown a 2-0 lead in game two, it was all Loyola. A 5-0 LU run, highlighted by back-to-back blocks, moved the Ramblers into the lead and another five-point spurt later, capped by an Ann Deelo service ace, gave Loyola an 18-10 lead and it was never headed, cruising to a 30-17 win and a 2-0 lead at intermission.

The Penguins came out of intermission fired up and took an early 8-4 lead after a pair of Loyola errors. The Ramblers responded out of the timeout with three consecutive points of their own to get back in the game and the teams settled in from there. The Penguins managed to play from the lead until two straight Ashley kills tied the game at 16. Loyola finally gained some breathing room moments later as a pair of Zins kills and a tandem block from Zins and Stromath highighted a 4-0 spurt that gave the Ramblers a 23-18 advantage. Youngstown battled back and closed within 26-24 but Loyola managed to side-out the rest of the way.

The Ramblers, who hit .314 for the match, placed three players in double figures, as Zins (13 kills, nine digs) and Stromath (11 kills) provided support for Ashley. Mindy Rees had another solid performance in her first collegiate start, finishing with four kills and 41 assists. Ann Deelo led the defensive effort, which limited Youngstown State to a .127 hitting percentage, with 15 digs.

Loyola wraps up its road tour of the Horizon League next weekend when it takes on UW-Green Bay and UW-Milwaukee. The two matches will be LU's last matches of the season away from Alumni Gym.