Originally published October 1, 2010
The volleyball team extended its losing streak to eight games with a 3-0 sweep at the hands of Loyola University Chicago on Tuesday night.
It was also the team’s seventh consecutive home loss and dropped the Braves’ overall record to 4-11.
The first set featured 10 ties and a lead change before the Ramblers took the set 25-22.
Junior Megan Schmidt had a kill to tie the match at 22, but Loyola used a 3-0 run to take the set.
The Braves began the pivotal second set slowly and trailed by as many as five points early. But, sparked by freshman Lauren Zerante’s five kills, the team pulled even at 15.
Another scoring drought allowed the Ramblers to regain the lead. The Braves were able to get within one point at 23-22 before a Bradley service error allowed Loyola to finish off the set with a kill.
The third set was much like the first and second. The set was tied early at five before Loyola used a run to take a 12-7 lead. Bradley countered with a 6-3 run of its own to cut the Rambler lead to 15-13.
The Braves got no closer and lost the set 25-19.
Freshman Amy Angelos led the team with 11 kills. Schmidt and senior Caitlin Staib each led the team with seven blocks at the net.
Senior Melissa Collins came off the bench to contribute six kills and seven digs. Zerante added eight kills and 13 digs.
Zerante said the team is going to try to change its approach during matches to end its current losing streak.
“As a team, we just want to go out and relax and play hard,” she said. “We have the talent, it’s just up to us to put it together and get things going. So we’re going to really focus on playing confident and being aggressive.”
