BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The No. 13-ranked University of Chicago volleyball team rallied back from a two-set deficit, but fell short in a 3-2 loss at Illinois Wesleyan University on Wednesday.

The Maroons (8-1 record) absorbed their first loss of the season. The Titans improved to 6-2 on the year.

IWU 3, UChicago 2 (25-18, 30-28, 23-25, 18-25, 15-8)

In the first set, Illinois Wesleyan utilized an 11-4 run midway through and carried the momentum to a 25-18 win. Both sides came out swinging in the second set and tallied a combined .385 hitting percentage. The see-saw affair ended up going to the Titans 30-28 to give them a commanding 2-0 lead.

However, UChicago hung tough in the third set and looked to halve the deficit when the score stood at 24-20. Three-straight IWU points kept things interesting, but senior outside hitter Maren Loe spiked a kill to end it at 25-23.

The fourth set went much smoother for the Maroons. The visitors went on a 13-3 run and cruised from there to tie the match, 25-18.

It all came down to the fifth set, and the Titans proved to be sharper on offense. IWU won seven of the opening eight points and went on to win the match at 15-8.

Loe was a leading attacker with 25 kills – her second-highest total of the season. She was also a big defensive contributor with four blocks and 18 digs. Senior outside hitter Jasmine Mobley posted her second-best kill tally of the season with 18. Senior setter Ragine Graves drove the offense with 47 assists while adding 16 digs. On defense, freshman libero Brooke Watson set a new career-best mark with 29 digs.

As a team, UChicago posted a season-low hitting percentage of .180 (58 kills, 25 errors) while IWU hit .229 (70 kills, 26 errors). The Maroons came into the match hitting .280 as a team this year. The front row defenders made their presence felt with 19 block assists on the night.

UChicago Stat Leaders
Maren Loe (Sr.) – 25 kills, 18 digs, 4 blocks
Jasmine Mobley (Sr.) – 18 kills, 4 digs, 3 blocks
Ragine Graves (Sr.) – 47 assists, 16 digs
Brooke Watson (Fr.) – 29 digs, 5 assists

NEXT MATCH:

• Friday, September 18 – UChicago vs. University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (Carthage Invite), 6 PM