TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Laura Gross put down eight kills and led Indiana State with 14 digs but the Sycamores struggled offensively for the second straight match in a 3-0 loss to Loyola Chicago Saturday night in Missouri Valley Conference play at ISU Arena.
 
Indiana State (7-7, 0-2) hit only .035 as a team, its second lowest mark of the season, and only put down 27 kills with 23 errors committed. Loyola Chicago (10-4, 2-0) came out of the gates hot, hitting .457 in the opening set to carry the Ramblers to a .310 mark on the match. Loyola also out-blocked the Sycamores, 11-6. Quinn Spieker led Loyola with 13 kills while Heather Kocken (12) and Gabi Maciagowski (11) also reached double-digit numbers in kills.
 
Despite the disparity in numbers, ISU nearly claimed a second set win in a frame highlighted by 13 ties and seven lead changes. But the Ramblers would snatch the set victory away from the host Sycamores as Spieker and Maciagowksi combined to put down kills in five of the seven final points of the frame.
 
Set scores were 25-14, 26-24 and 25-13.
 
SET 1 – Loyola Chicago 25, Indiana State 14

• Damadj Johnson led ISU with three kills, hitting .750.
• Loyola Chicago hit .457 in the set while ISU hit .135.
• The Ramblers out-dug the Sycamores, 20-14.

SET 2 – Loyola Chicago 26, Indiana State 24

• Laura Gross and Nikkie White each put down five kills in the set.
• Blocks were even in the second set, 3-3.
• The Sycamores hit .211 in the set compared to the .286 mark by Loyola.
• Quinn Spieker led Loyola with eight kills in the frame.
• Damadj Johnson registered three of her five blocks in the second set.

SET 3 – Loyola Chicago 25, Indiana State 13

• Loyola led by as much as 14 at the 23-9 mark before Indiana State won four of the next five points. That lead was aided by a 9-0 run by the Ramblers.
• Rhiannon Morozoff led ISU with two kills in the set.
• The Sycamores hit -.237 in the frame while Loyola hit .172.
• Indiana State was out-blocked, 6-2.
• Melina Tedrow served up ISU's only ace of the match in the final set.

UP NEXT

• Indiana State: at (RV) Northern Iowa on Monday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN3)
• Loyola Chicago: hosts Missouri State on Monday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. ET (ESPN3)

NOTABLES

• Loyola now leads the all-time series, 11-8.
• The loss snapped a three-match winning streak over the Ramblers.
• This marks the first loss at home to Loyola since 2016.
• Damadj Johnson moved into a tie for eighth in career blocks in Indiana State history with 280, matching the 280 total blocks registered by Stephanie Volden (2006-09).
• Johnson maintained her spot in seventh in career block assists as she now has 240 career block assists. She is three away from matching the 243 block assists by Brittanie Stowell (2001-04), ranking sixth.

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