Box Score The Pack played the Eagles close in each set but were edged out in the end
NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola University New Orleans volleyball team began a four-game homestand on Tuesday, dropping a 3-0 decision to the top seed in the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC), Faulkner University.
The Wolf Pack (13-16, 3-10 SSAC) played a close match with the Lady Eagles (20-9, 11-2) until the final point. Overall, the match featured 42 ties and 13 lead changes, and neither team led by more than six points during the contest.
In the opening frame, the two teams went back-and-forth, as there had already been six different ties when the score read 7-7. The Lady Eagles started to pull away, stretching their lead to six points at 16-10, but the Wolf Pack came roaring back, scoring seven-straight points to take a 17-16 lead. Faulkner regained the lead, however, and would take the set 25-21.
Faulkner took an early 6-2 lead in the second frame, and would later stretch their lead to 15-9. Once again, the Wolf Pack went on a run to close the gap, tying the score at 15-all. The set was tied as late as 21-21, but the Lady Eagles would score four-straight to win the set by the same score of 25-21.
The third set was the closest of the match, with the two teams tying 19 different times throughout the period. Loyola held their largest lead of the game at 20-16, but Faulkner would score nine of the final 11 points, winning by a score of 25-22 to take the tightly-contested 3-0 win match.
The Pack will remain at home this weekend, hosting a doubleheader in The Den on Saturday against Florida College at 11 a.m. and Millsaps College at 1 p.m.
"Unfortunate strings or errors at really pivotal times plagued us tonight. We saw some really great fight and some really exciting, long rallies from our girls. Looking at our numbers against Faulkner's, the match was so close. I'm confident if we make fewer errors, the outcome of that match goes our way. Our backcourt really stepped up tonight with four players with double-digit digs. They did a lot of work to keep the score as close as it was tonight."
Pack Facts
Tylar Beckham recorded two blocks tonight to give her a team-best 113 on the year, which is now tied for the 10th-most in a season in program history.
The junior added 12 kills in the match, reaching double-digits in that column for the 12th time this year.
For the second-straight game, Champagne Cunningham posted five blocks, reaching that mark for the fourth time on the season.
Both Sunni Blanchard (12 assists and 13 digs) and Maddie Huekels (16 assists and 12 digs) recorded double-doubles tonight.
For Blanchard, this was her eighth, while Huekels registered her 12th.
You can keep up with the Pack this season by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com.
