ST. LOUIS – The Saint Louis volleyball team's five-match winning streak came to an end Tuesday afternoon as the Billikens fell to Loyola Chicago 3-1 inside Chaifetz Pavilion.
SET 1 | SLU 23, LUC 25
The Billikens jumped out to an early 4-1 lead behind the serve of
Tamia Maddox. After battling back and forth, Loyola Chicago took its first lead at 12-11 as part of a 5-0 run that gave the Ramblers a 14-11 advantage.
Loyola Chicago extended its lead to 20-14, but Saint Louis would not go away quietly, closing the gap to 22-20. The Billikens fought off three set points to pull within one at 24-23 and force a Rambler timeout before Loyola Chicago closed out the opening set.
SET 2 | SLU 18, LUC 25
The teams traded points to open the second set before Saint Louis used a 3-0 run to take a 7-4 lead. The Billikens maintained their advantage until the Ramblers tied the set at 12-12.
The teams continued to trade points until Loyola Chicago broke a 17-17 tie with an 8-1 run to close out the set and take a 2-0 match lead.
SET 3 | SLU 27, LUC 25
Maddox accounted for Saint Louis' first three points with a kill and back-to-back service aces. The Billikens built a 10-6 lead and extended their advantage to 14-9 before the Ramblers responded with a 3-0 run to pull within two.
Loyola Chicago tied the set at 15-15, but SLU answered with three consecutive points to regain an 18-15 advantage. The Ramblers again evened the score at 19-19 before back-to-back Billiken blocks put Saint Louis ahead 21-19.
Loyola Chicago battled back to tie the set at 23-23 and earned match point at 24-23. The Billikens fought off match point and earned a set point of their own at 25-24 before kills from
Tea Kalajdzic and
Ellie Rink secured the 27-25 win.
SET 4 | SLU 19, LUC 25
The teams battled back and forth early in the fourth set before Loyola Chicago used a 4-0 run to take an 11-7 lead. The Ramblers extended their advantage to 13-9, but Saint Louis responded with three consecutive points to close the gap to 13-12.
The Billikens continued to battle, eventually tying the set at 17-17 behind back-to-back kills from
J'La Sparks. Loyola Chicago answered with a 6-1 run to take a 23-18 lead before closing out the set 25-19.
Notables
- J'La Sparks matched her career high with 12 kills while hitting .333 and adding three block assists.
- Tamia Maddox recorded 12 kills on a .370 hitting percentage and added seven digs and three service aces.
- Kayla Jansen led the Billikens with six blocks while adding eight kills on a .412 hitting percentage.
- Tea Kalajdzic finished with nine kills, seven digs and a .286 hitting percentage.
- Jetta Brenning recorded 36 assists, nine digs and three block assists.
- Lara Zigic led Saint Louis with 12 digs.
Up next
Saint Louis travels to Richmond, Va., for a two-match series against VCU. The Billikens will face the Rams on Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. Central.
