The Loyola University New Orleans Volleyball team celebrated "Pink Day" on Saturday afternoon by welcoming Brewton-Parker College to The Den for a SSAC matchup. In one of the most dominating offensive performances of the season, the Wolf Pack downed the Barons 3-1 (26-24,19-25,25-24,25-15) powered by three players with 10-plus kills.
Loyola improves to 13-11 overall and 5-5 in SSAC play with the win, while Brewton-Parker drops to 1-16 on the year and 0-10 in league games with the loss.
Following a brief delay due to transportation issues, the first set started with a fury as both teams battled to five ties. With the score all knotted at 23-23 Fr. L Anna Katherine Brunini (Madison, Miss./Madison Central)found Sr. OH Eva Allen (Oakland, Calif./Head-Royce) for a kill to give the Wolf Pack a slim 24-23 advantage. A service error would tie the score at 24-24, before kills by Fr. MB Jordan Davis (Litchfield Park, Ariz./Millennium) and Allen gave Loyola the 26-24 victory in the set.
Down 10-7 in the second, Brewton-Parker scored nine-unanswered points to force a Wolf Pack timeout with the score at 16-10. The visiting team maintained a safe cushion for the remainder of the set to take the 25-19 victory.
With the match knotted at 1-1, Loyola jumped out to a 7-2 lead to start the third set. With the score tied at 11-11, the Wolf Pack used some great serving by Fr. S Maddie Huekels (Dyer, Ind./Marian Catholic), combined with Baron errors, to put up six-straight points to regain the lead at 17-11. The home team ended the set on 4-0 run to earn the 25-14 win and the 2-1 advantage in the set.
The Wolf Pack exploded in the fourth set, jumping out to a 12-1 lead early. The then Barons constructed a 5-1 to cut the deficit to 13-8. Loyola remained in control for the remaining points en route to the convincing 25-14 set victory and the 3-1 win in the match.
Three Wolf Pack players recorded 10-plus kills on the afternoon, with Allentallying a game-high 17 while Davis added 11 and Fr. MB Allison Hartmann (Slidell, La./Pope John Paul II) chipped in 10. So. DSElizabeth Scioneaux (Reserve, La./East St. John) collected a career-high 30 digs and Huekels dished out a game-high 26 helpers. Allen also chipped in with 16 digs, while Brunini contributed a game-high five aces to go along with 11 digs.
Loyola completes the three-game homestand on Monday, Oct. 12, when it takes on Spring Hill at 6:00 p.m.
