Loyola Chicago’s Van Grinsven Helps Team To First Conference Win

Freshman Elle Van Grinsven smacked a season-high 19 kills and added six blocks to power Loyola University Chicago (2-21, 1-11 MVC) to a come-from-behind, 11-25, 25-22, 28-26, 25-22 victory over Southern Illinois (5-19, 4-9 MVC) tonight at Davies Gym. The win snaps Loyola’s 16-match losing skid, while junior libero Maddy Moser recorded her 1,000^th career dig in the victory.

How It Happened

Southern Illinois took control of the opening set thanks to an 8-2 run that turned a three-point lead into a commanding 17-8 advantage. Loyola, which hit just -.071 in the set, never got closer than eight points the remainder of the way as the Salukis rolled to a 25-11 victory.

Van Grinsven and Morgan Gresham helped the Ramblers gain control in set two, combining for five kills as part of a 6-1 Loyola run that snapped a 10-10 tie and gave the Maroon and Gold a 16-11 lead. Loyola was able to keep the Salukis at arm’s length the remainder of the way, never letting SIU get closer than two points as it held on for a 25-22 decision that evened the match at a set apiece. As a team, the Ramblers hit a blistering .316 in set two, with Van Grinsven tallying seven kills.

Loyola stormed out to a 6-1 lead to begin set three and after Southern Illinois cut the deficit to two points, the Ramblers recorded four unanswered tallies of their own to grab a 16-10 advantage. Their lead would swell to 21-13 before the Salukis mounted a furious rally late in the set, putting together an 11-3 spurt to even things up at 24. The teams traded points until a Quinn Spieker kill gave Loyola a 27-26 lead and an ensuing SIU attack error capped off a thrilling 28-26 Loyola victory.

Set four was another back-and-forth affair and a slow start put the Ramblers in a 5-1 hole and forced them to play catch-up. Loyola wasted no time in erasing that deficit, however, stringing together a 6-2 run that tied the score at 7. After SIU went ahead by three (13-10), the Ramblers charged back yet again, rattling off five consecutive tallies for a 15-13 edge.

However, the Salukis roared ahead, 21-19, by registering eight of the next 12 points, but Loyola was unfazed and ripped off six of the final seven points of the set to secure a 25-22 victory and capture their first win since September 3.

A Look At The Numbers

• Van Grinsven’s 19 kills surpassed her previous season high of 17 set at Bradley on October 7. The middle blocker hit .471 (19-3-34) for the match.
• Moser finished with a season-high 22 digs, her most since November 5, 2016 (23 vs. Wichita State), as she joined Loyola’s 1,000 career digs club.
• Gresham totaled double-digit kills for the third straight outing, tallying 12 stops to go with nine digs and three blocks.
• Heather Kocken pitched in 10 kills for Loyola.
• Andrea Estrada led Southern Illinois with 11 kills and 10 digs.

Up Next

The Ramblers finally return home this weekend when they take on Bradley (Nov. 3) and Illinois State (Nov. 4) at Gentile Arena.