CHICAGO, Ill. – Rutgers volleyball dropped its Rambler Challenge finale on Saturday against host Loyola Chicago.

The Scarlet Knights took the first set 25-22, while the Ramblers came back to take the next three frames 28-26, 25-22, 25-17 to prevail 3-1.

Rutgers finished the weekend at 1-2 with redshirt junior setter Lauren DeLo named to the All-Tournament Team.
 

ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM

• Lauren DeLo made her first All-Tournament Team after totaling 61 assists and 10 blocks over the weekend's three games. She averaged 6.10 helpers and 1.0 rejections per set.
• DeLo made a career-high five kills against Loyola hitting .667 and had a career-high four blocks against the Ramblers, as well as Kansas State. She also served up an ace in each match.

STANDOUT STATS

• The Scarlet Knights had two with double-doubles. Freshman Taylor Humphrey logged 12 kills and 12 digs, while senior Alyssa Nayar collected 15 assists and 10 digs.
• Redshirt freshman Alissa Kinkela led the attack for Rutgers with 13 kills.
• Redshirt junior Lauren DeLo posted 19 assists in addition to recording five points on six swings and adding four blocks.
• Graduate student Megan Vernon led the Scarlet Knights at the net with eight total blocks, while sophomore Lucy Malone came up with a team-leading 14 digs.

KEY MOMENTS

• Set 1 (25-22) | Rutgers grabbed the first set behind a .438 hitting percentage with Taylor Humphrey notching six kills and Alissa Kinkella recording four points on seven swings. The Scarlet Knights and Ramblers played to nine ties and five lead changes. A Lauren DeLo kill tied up the opening frame at 17-17 and began a 5-1 run that would give Rutgers the advantage for good.
• Set 2 (26-28) | The second set endured 12 ties before the Ramblers pulled out the victory to tie the match at 1-1. Rutgers thwarted a trio of set points by Loyola to keep the set going as a Kinkella swing kept Rutgers in the match at 24-24, a Rambler service error tied the match at 25-25 and a Loyola attack error knotted the score at 26-26. The Ramblers, however, took the set off kills from Anna Feldkamp and Addie Barnes. Sasha Stotler and Kinkella each had three kills, while Vernon posted four rejections.
• Set 3 (22-25) | Loyola used a 6-0 run to go in front at 12-10, but Rutgers later countered with four unanswered punctuated by a Lauren DeLo ace to go up 15-14. The Ramblers captured the next three points to regain a lead they would not lose. Loyola extended its advantage to 24-19 where Rutgers would thwart four set point opportunities and narrow its deficit to two. Stopping the hosts from taking the set were blocks from Megan Vernon and DeLo along with an ace by Kristina Grkovic before the Ramblers went up 2-1 on a kill by Emily Banitt. Stotler led RU with a trio of kills while Vernon added three more blocks to her stat line.
• Set 4 (17-25) | The Ramblers opened on a 6-2 run and stayed in front. A Madyson Chitty ace saw Rutgers trail 9-7, but Loyola rebounded by outscoring RU 5-1 to go ahead 14-9. The Scarlet Knights narrowed the gap to two again at 15-13 thanks to kills by Kinkela and Humphrey, but the Ramblers powered ahead with a 7-2 run. Kinkela swung .714 in the final frame with five kills on seven attempts.

KNIGHT NOTES

• Taylor Humphrey captured her first career double-double with her 12-kill, 12-dig performance.
• Alyssa Nayar, meanwhile, posted her third double-double this season and the 19th of her career.
• Megan Vernon, who logged one solo block and seven block assists, totaled eight blocks in a match for the fourth time in her career. She last recorded eight rejections at Indiana back on Oct. 24, 2021.

UP NEXT

• Rutgers volleyball opens up its home schedule next weekend with the Rutgers Tournament.
• The Scarlet Knights will host FDU at 10 a.m. and FIU at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17 and Princeton at 1 p.m.  on Sunday, Sept. 18.
• Admission to all home games is free.
• Parking for all home games is free with registration.

Follow Rutgers women's volleyball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.