The Loyola University New Orleans Volleyball team returned home on Friday evening to take on Dalton State College (Ga.) in a SSAC showdown. The Wolf Pack started off conference play with a bang, defeating the Road Runners 3-1 (25-21,20-25,25-22,25-22) inside the Den.
With the victory, Loyola sits at 5-6 overall with a 1-0 mark in SSAC action. Dalton State College falls to 3-4 on the year and 0-1 in conference play with the loss.
The first set started with three early ties and the score was knotted at 11-11. Down 15-12, the Wolf Pack put three-straight on the board to tie the score once again, this time at 15-15. Loyola put another three points on the board later in the set to force a Dalton State timeout with the score at 22-18. The home team maintained the lead for the remainder of the set to take the 25-21 victory and go up 1-0.
The Wolf Pack kept the pressure on in the second set, jumping out to an early 5-1 lead to force a Road Runner timeout. Dalton State came out of the timeout with a renewed energy and put up five-unanswered to knot the score at 5-5. The score would tie three more times before the Road Runners took their first lead of the set at 9-8. The score remained close for the remainder of the set until Dalton State strung together a 3-0 run to go up 20-17 late. Down 23-19, Loyola was forced to call a timeout. The Wolf Pack were unable to recover down the stretch and the visitors took set two 25-20 to tie the match.
Loyola found itself down for a majority of the third set until 4-0 run to put the home team up 9-7. Dalton State came firing back to not only regain the lead but to stretch the advantage to six points at 18-12. A 5-2 run by the Wolf Pack put the home team right back in the thick of things, bringing the deficit down to 19-17. Loyola followed that up with another run, this time a 7-0 outburst, to take the lead back at 23-21. Dalton State was unable to bounce back and the Wolf Pack took the set 25-22 to take the 2-1 lead.
The fourth set was just as close as the previous three. Both teams exchanged blows throughout with neither team being able to build a lead larger than three points. Up 20-16 late, Loyola forced the Road Runners to burn a timeout. Following the timeout, Dalton State attempted to get back in the match but the Wolf Pack refused to let that happen and the home team won the fourth set 25-22 and the match 3-1.
Sr. OH Eva Allen (Oakland, Calif./Head-Royce) led Loyola with 12 kills and a team-high three service aces. Fr. S Maddie Huekels (Dyer, Ind./Marian Catholic) recorded a double-double for Loyola, dishing out 15 assists while scooping up 10 digs. So. DS/OH Breanna Stevenson(Desoto, Texas/Desoto) recorded a team-high 18 digs and Fr. MBAllison Hartmann (Slidell, La./Pope John Paul II) collected 10 kills and a team-high three blocks in the win.
Loyola returns to action tomorrow, September 12, when it welcomes Faulkner University to The Den for a match set to start at noon.
