Box Score:  EKU vs. Loyola
Box Score:  EKU vs. Iowa

Photo Gallery vs. Loyola
Photo Gallery vs. Iowa

CHICAGO, Ill. – Eastern Kentucky’s volleyball team concluded play at the Loyola Invitational with a pair of losses on Saturday. The Colonels (0-3) lost to Loyola (1-1) 3-0 before suffering another shutout loss to Iowa (3-0).

The final two sets of the Loyola match were very close. The Ramblers won the first set 25-13 before winning the next two by scores of 25-19 and 31-29. Iowa defeated the Colonels by scores of 25-17, 25-12 and 25-21.

Against Loyola, Lauren Snyder led Eastern with 10 kills and Lindsey Loescher added seven. #Abby O’Connor# contributed a team-best 17 digs. Three players recorded double digit kill totals for Loyola, led by Colleen Francis and Natalie Pounovich with 11 each. Pounovich added five blocks.

The Ramblers had 44 kills compared to 28 for the Colonels. Loyola held a .280 to .077 advantage in hitting percentage.

Snyder finished with 11 kills against Iowa, tying for the match-high. The junior newcomer hit .222 and added seven digs. O’Connor finished with a match-high 26 digs. Megan Schipper led Iowa with 11 kills. Katie Kennedy posted a match-best six blocks. The Hawkeyes out-hit Eastern .259 to .009 and held a 14-1 advantage in blocks.

The first set against Loyola remained close early, with six ties in the first 22 points. A kill by Snyder capped a streak of three straight points by Eastern and tied the set at 10-10. However, after a service error by Loyola allowed EKU to tie the score at 11-11, the Ramblers rolled off eight straight points as part of a 13-1 run that brought the home team to set point. Two plays later, a kill by Katie Johnson gave Loyola a one-set lead.

The second set remained close throughout. Back-to-back kills by Loescher and Autumn Harms gave the Colonels an early 3-1 lead. A Loyola attack error followed by another kill by Harms pushed the lead to 6-2. A block by Loyola’s Dana VanDiggelen and Pounovich tied the set for the second time, 7-7. The Ramblers took a 10-7 lead before a pair of kills and a service ace by Kate Hendle tied the set at 10-10.

The set was tied six more times before Loyola began to pull away. A block and a kill for the Ramblers broke a 17-17 tie and gave the home team a two-point advantage. After Snyder made it a one-point set, 20-19, with a kill, but Loyola scored the final five points to take a 2-0 lead.

The third set was even closer. The set was tied at 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6 before back-to-back kills by Harms gave the Colonels an 8-6 advantage. However, Loyola scored two straight to tie it again at 8-8. The set was tied four more times before the Ramblers used a 5-1 run to take a four-point cushion, 20-16.

The Colonels didn’t quit. EKU scored the next four to tie the set again. Snyder had a kill and two aces during the run. Moments later a kill by Pounovich gave Loyola match-point at 24-22 but a kill by Loescher kept the match alive.

The Colonels worked their way to set-point three times but each time the Ramblers had the answer. Finally, back-to-back errors by EKU gave Loyola the set, 31-29, and the match.

In the first set of the match against Iowa, Eastern Kentucky jumped out to a 2-0 lead on back-to-back kills by Toni Michalski and Harms. UI went on top 5-4 and never trailed again. The Colonels stayed within four points until a kill by Aimee Huffman pushed the Iowa lead to five at 18-13. Another kill by Huffman followed by an Eastern error pushed the deficit to six, 21-15. The Hawkeyes closed out the set with four unanswered to win 25-17.

After a service ace in the second set by Hendle tied the score at 6-6, Iowa used a 10-1 run to build a 16-7 lead. A kill by Huffman stretched the lead to double figures, 18-8. The Hawkeyes went on to post a 25-12 win in set number two.

In the third set, the Colonels jumped out to a 2-0 lead again. Back-to-back Iowa attack errors gave Eastern a 6-4 lead. Two more Hawkeye attack errors allowed EKU to stretch its lead to three, 8-5. A kill by Hendle gave the Colonels their largest lead of four, 10-6.

Iowa battled back. After tying the set twice, a block by Lauren Friedman and Tiffany Nilges gave the Hawkeyes their first lead at 14-13. Iowa never trailed again. A block by Mallory Husz and Megan Schipper put UI up on top by three, 19-16. The Hawkeyes never led by more than three until an EKU attack error gave Iowa the set 25-21 and ended the match.

The Colonels’ will return to action on Friday at the Gamecock Invitational, hosted by the University of South Carolina. Eastern will play South Carolina at 10 a.m., and North Carolina-Greensboro at 5 p.m.