Box Score The Wolf Pack drops to 1-1 following the loss. Loyola returns to action on August 26 with matches against Huston-Tillotson and Jarvis Christian.
Coming off a convincing 3-1 victory over SUNO earlier in the day, the Loyola University New Orleans volleyball team returned to Dent Hall on Friday evening to square off against Dillard University in the nightcap of day one of the Dillard Volleyball Classic.
Loyola entered Friday's matchup with the Lady Bleu Devils holding a 7-1 advantage in all-time meetings between the two programs, including a seven-match winning streak dating back seven years. Despite history not being on Dillard's side, the host team managed to come out and steal a W on its home court on Friday - winning three-straight close sets to hand Loyola its first loss of the 2017 campaign.
With the defeat, the Wolf Pack dropped to 1-1 on the season while Dillard improved to 2-0 to start the year.
The first set was close throughout but Dillard was steadily able to build a lead down the stretch. With the Bleu Devils up eight (22-15), Loyola paired some Dillard errors with two kills each by Malea Howie (SO/Greenwood, Ind.) and Lindsay Ulfig (SR/Saline, Mich.) to orchestrate a 6-1 run to trim the deficit to just two at 23-21. A kill by DU's Amara Edwards brought the Lady Bleu Devils within one point of the win before Howie connected on another kill (from Maddie Huekels (JR/Dyer, Ind.)) to bring the score to 24-22. A Loyola ball handling error would end the set and give the home team the 1-0 advantage after the opening set.
Set two was another close affair but Dillard once again found a way to build a small lead as the set progressed and eventually found itself up six (17-11) midway through the contest. The Wolf Pack was able to trim Lady Bleu Devil cushion down to four late thanks to a block by Huekels and Allison Hartmann (JR/Slidell, La.) but that would be as close as the maroon and gold would get as Dillard rattled off the next two points in a row to close out the set 25-19 and go up 2-0 in the match.
Both teams battled back-and-forth for the entirety of set three, eventually stalling out at 22-22 down the stretch. A kill by Dillard's Shelby Stewart sparked a 2-0 run by the home team before a service error would halt the spurt and bring the score to 24-23 in favor of the Lady Bleu Devils. With victory in their sites, the duo of Kamryn Linton and Tristan Cojoe connected on a kill to give the host squad the set victory 25-23 and the match victory in three-straight sets.
The Wolf Pack will wrap up play at the Dillard Volleyball Classic on Saturday, August 26, with matches against Huston-Tillotson (11:00 a.m.) and Jarvis Christian (1:00 p.m.)
