Box Score The Wolf Pack volleyball team had their six-match winning streak snapped by Xavier Tuesday
NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola Wolf Pack volleyball team continued their non-conference two-match tour with New Orleans opponents Tuesday, dropping a three-set match (25-12, 25-20, 26-24) to Xavier Tuesday night. The Wolf Pack's record moves to 12-7 overall and they remain in first place in the Southern States Athletic Conference standings with a 6-1 record, hitting the road for two league matches this weekend. First, Loyola will take on Faulkner on Friday in Montgomery at 6:30 p.m., then it'll travel to Mobile at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
The Gold Nuggets won the first set decisively, but the Wolf Pack had a chance to swing momentum in their favor early. Trailing 8-4, Brittany Cooper recorded a kill and Kailyn O'Neal had a service ace to help cut the home team's lead to 9-8. Xavier, however, scored the next six of seven points to extend its lead to 15-9. It was all Xavier from there.
Cooper got things started with an attack in the second set for Loyola, then Gabriela Martinez had two kills and contributed to two blocks to put Loyola up 6-5. Xavier went on another run, though, pushing its advantage to 17-10 quickly. Alicia Simmons and Cooper combined to score three straight points and an ace by Rebecca LaCour cut it to 17-14. Attacks by Preslie Boswell, Martinez and Jordan Bernard made it a 21-20 Gold Nuggets lead, but from there Xavier won four straight points to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set was much closer than the previous two games, as Loyola started with a 3-0 lead thanks to two errors by Xavier and a kill by Simmons. Another Martinez attack helped extend the lead to 6-2, and an ace by Gracie Bailey powered the Wolf Pack to push the score to 13-5. Xavier, however, used a 5-0 run to cut Loyola's lead to 15-12, then another quick run made it an 18-17 Wolf Pack advantage. Attacks by Martinez and Simmons gave Loyola a 22-20 lead, but Xavier won four straight points to take a 24-22 lead. Tied 24-24, Xavier won the final two points to win the match in straight sets.
Pack Facts
Gabriela Martinez led the team in attacking for the first time this season. The senior posted a season-high eight kills on a career-best .636 hitting percentage.
Martinez also had five blocks, her second-highest output of the season.
Brittany Cooper led the team in digs with 11. She also added five kills.
Kailyn O'Neal and Gracie Bailey each put up 10 assists. It's the 16th match this season in which Bailey and O'Neal have each recorded double-digit assists in the same contest.
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