Despite putting up a fight in the second set of Evanston’s home opener, girls volleyball came up short against Loyola Academy on Wednesday night, falling 13-25, 20-25, to the Ramblers.
The Ramblers (6-2) came firing from all cylinders early on, quickly going up 15-8 in the first set. Although a couple of powerful kills by junior outside hitter Sarah Skey brought the Kits (2-6) to within as close as six, Loyola hung on to the first set, 25-13. The Ramblers, who made it to the IHSA Class 4A Super Sectionals last year, looked dominant out of the gates, both with impressive defensive digs and constant kills on top of the net.
But after a quick regroup between sets, Evanston looked like a completely different team. The Kits jumped out to a 9-8 lead early in the second set. What had been kills for Loyola in the first set were being blocked; what were hitting errors in the first set for the Kits turned into kills. Both Skey and junior Gillian Colledge finished the night with five kills a piece.
“Once we started to do things that made [Loyola] make adjustments, we found ourselves being more successful,” said head coach Paris McFall. “We were able to calm down, and get rid of the jitters, so we looked more fluid. That was the main thing– just being disciplined and actually breathing a little bit more.”
Evanston stayed competitive throughout the second set, evening the score up at 13-13 midway through the set. After trading missed serves to put the game at 14 all, Loyola got its footing back, going on a 4-0 run to go up, 18-14. That small run was all the Ramblers needed to propel them to a 25-20 win in the set, sealing the game. Despite the loss, McFall was proud of his team’s effort against a tough Rambler team.
“A couple of calls where our girls went up [at the net] didn’t go our way. But those are the errors that I’ll take,” McFall stated. “Our effort was great. The second set was a testament to our energy, to our focus, and to our ability to stay scrappy.”
Skey highlighted the good fight the team put up in their home debut.
“I’m really proud of us. Everybody really worked together. [Loyola] was a really hard team and [one] that we’ve been nervous about,” said Skey. “So I’m excited that we all came together to at least get a good score.”
Evanston takes on Libertyville on the road on Thursday, Aug. 31 at 6:00 p.m.
