Coming off a 4-22 record last year, the Loyola University women’s volleyball team has shown dramatic improvement this season, and a big reason is the play of freshman Stephanie Kinane of Batavia.

The Ramblers (15-9) returned five starters from last year’s team, but lost their starting libero to graduation. Kinane was one of the players Loyola recruited to potentially take her place.

“I knew I had competition coming in here,” Kinane says. “I didn’t expect to start right away, but I knew if I wanted to, I was going to have to work very hard.”