Mother McAuley proves to be too much for Loyola

THE SKINNY

In the run-up to this weekend’s ASICS Challenge at home, the No. 1-ranked Mighty Macs moved into sole possession of first place in the GCAC Red with their win over the visiting Ramblers. Both teams entered Tuesday’s match undefeated in conference play, but Mother McAuley (18-1 overall, 4-0 conference) showed its balance and depth in the convincing victory. The loss snapped Loyola’s six-game winning streak.

TURNING POINT

Loyola (13-2, 4-1) led 7-4 early in the first game, but Mother McAuley ran off four consecutive points, two on aces by junior right-side hitter Maggie Scanlon, and never trailed again.

THE STAR

It is hard to pick one from the Mighty Macs, one of the top teams in the country, but Scanlon did a little bit of everything. She had three kills, three aces and two blocks.

BY THE NUMBERS

Mother McAuley senior outside hitter Molly Geary had a game-best six kills. Senior setter Courtney Joyce had 16 assists, 10 digs and two blocks. Senior outside hitter Maddie Meyer finished with four kills and three digs. Junior middle Caeley Hynes contributed three blocks and two kills. For Loyola, senior outside hitter Danielle Vanzelst totaled five kills and senior middle Kelsey O’Neill added four kills. Sophomore setter Katie Randolph had eight assists.

QUOTABLE

“Our benchmark is ball control, passing, defense and tough serving. We did that (Tuesday). We still are coming along with our blocking and hitting. We always are striving to get better.” — Mother McAuley coach Jennifer DeJarld

“We made a lot of mental errors and played out of position a lot. We were not our aggressive selves, and we were not attacking on offense. The desire was there, and the expectation to win was there. We knew there was a lot of pressure to come in here and walk away with a win, but we played out of character.” — Loyola coach Mark Chang