Score: #2 Loyola Chicago 3, #4 VCU 2 (25-27, 27-25, 25-27, 25-21, 15-12)
Location: Richmond, Va. (Siegel Center)
Records: VCU 16-13, Loyola Chicago 17-15
 
The Short Story: VCU's thrilling Atlantic 10 Tournament run came to an end Sunday. Despite career performances from seniors Alicja Jaryszek and Elif Ozsoy, the Rams dropped a heartbreaking, five-set marathon in the A-10 Championship Match to second-seeded Loyola Chicago Sunday at the Siegel Center.
 
OPENING VOLLEY

• Jaryszek led the Rams with 21 kills on 49 swings – her third 20-kill match of the season
• Ozsoy dished out a career-high with 61 assists to pace the VCU offense. She registered at least 40 assists in six of her final seven matches
• Senior opposite Julia Rienks added 17 kills to close out her dominant season in the Black and Gold. She also added six digs, four blocks, and an ace to finish with 20 points
• Senior outside hitter Kalina Pylinska finished with a double-double for the Rams thanks to 15 kills and 12 digs. This marked her sixth double-double of the season. She also added four aces to lead VCU
• VCU graduate libero Haruka Sugimoto finished with 21 digs and improved her season total to 424
• Kaitlyn Burke led the Ramblers with 20 kills, while Tournament MVP Ann Marie Remmes provided 17 kills and hit .593 

THE DIFFERENCE

• This was a back-and-forth affair between the Ramblers and Rams to finish the A-10 tournament. In the five sets, there were 46 ties and 23 lead changes
• The Ramblers had a more efficient attack with a .287 hit percentage and 21 attack errors
• The Rams had an advantage in serves with 11 aces and 10 service errors, compared to eight aces and 11 errors for the Ramblers

NOTABLE

• Rienks and Jaryszek earned Atlantic 10 All-Tournament honors for their efforts
• With 17 kills, Rienks now has 463 on the season, good for fifth all-time in program history
• With four aces, Pylinska improved her service aces per set ratio to 0.52, good for fourth all-time in program history (min. 75 sets)