DAYTON, Ohio – Loyola Chicago’s winning streak ended on Friday night as they faced off against the No. 22 Dayton Flyers, who swept the Ramblers 3-0. Each player from Loyola recorded seven kills, but the team now holds a record of 9-8 overall and 5-2 in Atlantic 10 Conference play.
“I thought Dayton came ready to play and played like a ranked team,” said the head coach. “We need to improve our defense against their attacks. Additionally, our serves need to be tougher to disrupt their rhythm. I’m proud of the team for their efforts in the third set.”
Borum led the team with 13 assists and nine digs, while another player matched those nine digs as a team best. The Ramblers also saw strong performance in the middle with four blocks and five kills from another player.
The Flyers started strong, launching an 8-3 run with contributions from multiple players. DeBlieck helped the Ramblers secure back-to-back points to reduce the deficit to 12-8, but Dayton responded with consecutive 3-0 runs, eventually leading 21-13. Loyola managed one last kill to make it 21-14, but Dayton sealed the first set, 25-16.
In the second set, the Flyers continued their dominance by scoring the first six points and racing to a 9-1 lead. With a kill from Taylor Russell and two consecutive errors from Loyola, Dayton extended their lead to 12-2. Despite efforts from Borum and Remmes, the Ramblers struggled to close the gap, allowing Dayton to wrap up the second set, 25-10.
The Ramblers fought back in the third set, quickly tying the game at 3-3 with an opening kill from Ajanovic. Although the Flyers took a 9-5 lead, Loyola fought back, and kills from Cvitkovic and Ajanovic narrowed the gap to 12-11. After back-to-back kills from Remmes and Borum tied the score at 14, Borum followed up with two more kills to put the Ramblers ahead 16-15. They maintained their momentum with a 4-0 run for a 20-17 lead, but Dayton rallied back to tie it at 23-23 with a kill from Lexie Almodovar. The Flyers then executed a 3-0 run to win the final set, 27-25.
Loyola Chicago will have a chance for redemption when they meet Dayton again on Saturday at 1 PM CT.