Twelve aces carry Loyola past Saint Louis in four sets

SAINT LOUIS — Loyola Chicago answered the loss of a possible sweep with a decisive fourth set Tuesday, beating Saint Louis 3–1 in an Atlantic 10 women’s volleyball match. The Ramblers won 25–23, 25–18, 25–27, 25–19, using 12 service aces and Leyna Nguyen’s 18-kill, 20-dig performance to complete a road result that moved them to 9–3 in conference play.

The serving total was central to the difference between the teams. Saint Louis finished with three aces, giving Loyola a nine-point advantage in that category. Mya Ball and Sam Falk had three apiece, while Nguyen and Jae Fitting each added two. Chloe Morgan and Emma Henry supplied the other two, distributing the service pressure across several rotations.

Loyola improved to 12–10 overall, while Saint Louis fell to 12–11 and 7–5 in the Atlantic 10. The Ramblers ended the Billikens’ five-match winning streak, according to Loyola’s official account. That made the match more than an opportunity to add another win: it also created additional separation from an opponent that had entered only one conference victory behind them.

The first set offered little room to relax. Loyola finished with 16 kills and five attack errors on 33 attempts, a .333 hitting percentage, but needed the final margin of two points to move ahead. Kate Maley had five kills in the opening frame. Winning it meant the Ramblers had something to protect before the match’s more substantial scoring differences emerged.

The second set widened Loyola’s advantage. Nguyen recorded six kills and hit .600 in the period, helping the Ramblers win 25–18 despite a set that included repeated ties and lead changes. Loyola had reached 2–0 without needing to separate immediately in either frame. It had instead been more productive at the points that determined the finishes.

Saint Louis prevented the sweep by taking the third 27–25. Loyola’s attack percentage fell to .231, its lowest of the four sets, while the Billikens hit .278. The extended score changed the immediate demand on the Ramblers: they had to establish control again after missing a chance to end the match in three.

The response came in the fourth, when Loyola moved ahead for good at 8–7 and finished with a 25–19 win. Four aces in that set helped create separation, including two from Nguyen. The Ramblers also reduced their attack errors to three, combining direct service points with a cleaner offensive period to avoid a deciding fifth set.

Nguyen’s final 18 kills came on 37 attempts with six errors, a .324 percentage. Her 20 digs gave her a double-double for the third consecutive match, according to the team report. The defensive contribution was as useful as the scoring: keeping rallies alive gave Loyola another chance to use an attack that produced 63 kills overall.

Maley added 16 kills while hitting .367 and finished with five blocks. Katie Scherer supplied 10 kills with only one attack error in 19 attempts, a .474 mark. Those contributions gave Loyola several efficient options rather than leaving Nguyen responsible for every important swing. Avary DeBlieck added seven kills and five blocks, continuing the net production recognized by her conference weekly award Monday.

Henry led Loyola with 33 assists, while Ball contributed 16. Falk had 19 digs in addition to her three aces. The final team totals gave the Ramblers advantages of 63–53 in kills and 65–53 in digs, even though Saint Louis finished with nine team blocks to Loyola’s eight. The match was not decided by dominance in every category; serving and the distribution of productive swings supplied the larger difference.

For Saint Louis, Tamia Maddox and J’La Sparks each had 12 kills. Kayla Jansen recorded six blocks, and Jetta Brenning finished with 36 assists. Those numbers show that the Billikens continued to generate offense and resistance at the net, especially in the third set. Loyola still found enough points from its serve and enough support around Nguyen to keep the match from reaching five.

The Ramblers return to Gentile Arena for two matches against Fordham, scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. Chicago time. Tuesday’s win gives that home series a clear competitive foundation: Loyola completed a road match against a nearby conference challenger, recovered after an extended third-set loss and finished with multiple players contributing to the serving advantage.

The most repeatable part of the result is the range of those contributions. Twelve aces came from six servers, three attackers reached double figures in kills and two players collected at least 19 digs. Loyola did not need a single run to carry the entire evening. It needed enough different sources of points to answer Saint Louis’ third-set response, and the fourth set supplied that answer.