Box Score The Loyola volleyball team won its seventh straight Southern States Athletic Conference game Saturday, taking down Mobile for the second time this season
MOBILE, Ala. – The Loyola Wolf Pack continued their Southern States Athletic Conference winning streak by defeating Mobile in four sets (25-17, 25-18, 18-25, 25-19) Saturday, improving their league record to 8-1 to stay tied with Blue Mountain College in first place.
Loyola (14-7) is back in New Orleans for two matches next weekend, taking on Brewton-Parker Friday and Middle Georgia State on Saturday at Tulane's Devlin Fieldhouse.
Loyola began the match with a come-from-behind win in Set 1, 25-17. The Wolf Pack trailed early but stayed close to the Mobile, as the Rams built a 10-7 lead before Loyola went on its run. Jordan Bernard, Emily Sheperis and Brittany Cooper all had early attacks, but it was Sheperis' second kill that got the Wolf Pack going. With Gracie Bailey serving, who had two aces, Loyola went on a 7-0 run to jump up 15-10. After Mobile made it a 16-13 Loyola lead, the Wolf Pack used another 7-0 run to really grab control of the game. Sheperis served an ace and Gabriela Martinez had a kill during that stretch, and Mobile's 11th attack and second serving error helped Loyola secure the opening-game win.
The second set was nearly identical to the first, as Mobile took an early lead only to see Loyola use two long runs to win the game. The Rams led 5-2 in the beginning, but attacks by Sheperis and Bernard, as well as an ace by Cooper, allowed the Wolf Pack to win six straight points to take a 9-5 lead. After trading a couple of points, Loyola won six consecutive points again, this time using two kills by Simone Tyson and two aces by Kailyn O'Neal to extend the lead to 16-8. Mobile tried to get back in the game, narrowing the deficit to 20-16 before Tyson and Sheperis went back-to-back with a kill and an ace, then Preslie Boswell ended the set in Loyola's favor, 25-18.
After Mobile forced a fourth set with a 25-18 third-set win, Loyola quickly took a lead, 4-0, in the match-clinching game. Simone Moreau had two aces during that opening stretch, then an ace by Gracie Bailey pushed Loyola's lead to 8-2. A kill by Alicia Simmons stopped a Mobile run, giving the Wolf Pack an 11-8 lead, and it helped the Pack start a 6-1 run for themselves to push ahead even further, 16-9. Martinez and Boswell combined for two blocks during that portion of the set, then a block by Sheperis and Simmons gave Loyola a 22-17 lead. A Sheperis ace and two errors by William Carey ended the match.
"Really proud of this win. Mobile is a tough gym to play in. They always have a great home crowd and it can take a lot to lock in and play a solid game. Our team continues to expect nothing but success from each other and it's impressive. Both teams played really strong defensive games today which makes the offensive numbers look lopsided, but Simone Tyson and Emily still stayed efficient for us with their attack. The difference-maker was our aggressiveness at the service line. Our 12 aces were really our first line of defense, then we backed it up with really strong defensive net play. We're looking forward to having a little more time off this week to recoup and get ready for the final stretch of the regular season."
Pack Facts
Jordan Bernard led the Wolf Pack in kills with nine. Simone Tyson was right behind her with eight kills, and Emily Sheperis had seven.
Gracie Bailey collected her sixth double-double this season with 13 assists and 16 digs. Kailyn O'Neal also had a double-double, her seventh of the season, with 13 assists and 10 digs.
Loyola dominated Mobile on serves, with the team totaling 12 service aces compared to the Rams' three.
Bailey led the team with four aces and Sheperis had three. Both tied career highs.
Simone Moreau, who had two aces, led the team with 20 digs. She's recorded at least 20 digs in the last four conference matches.
Gabriela Martinez had a team-high five blocks and Preslie Boswell had five. Both tied season bests.
You can keep up with the Pack by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com.
