Box Score The Loyola volleyball team battled back from being down 2-1 in Saturday's match with Mobile to win the five-set match
NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola Wolf Pack will remain atop the Southern States Athletic Conference standings after Saturday's exciting win over Mobile, defeating the Rams in five sets (24-26, 25-16, 21-25, 25-23, 15-12) at Xavier's Convocation Center. Winners of its last four league matches, Loyola is now 10-6 overall this season and 5-1 in SSAC play to remain tied in first place with William Carey and Blue Mountain.
Loyola and William Carey are set to battle next week, as Loyola will begin a five-match road swing with its match in Hattiesburg Tuesday. The Wolf Pack and Crusaders are set for a 6 p.m. first serve.
In a close opening game, Mobile pulled away from Loyola late in the set, 22-16, but the Wolf Pack didn't go down easy. They won four straight points off Simone Tyson's service game, getting two kills from Jordan Bernard in the process. After Mobile pushed the lead to 24-20, Loyola won four consecutive points again with the help of Bernard and Preslie Boswell. The Rams, though, won the final two points to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Loyola started the match-tying set hot, using two kills by Bernard, one from Simmons and an ace by Bailey to jump up 4-1. Blocks by Sheperis and Bernard, and attacks by Tyson and Boswell, extended the Wolf Pack's lead to 11-4. Loyola cruised from there, pushing the lead to 17-10 after a kill by Sheperis, then 22-14 when Boswell and Gabriela Martinez combined for a block. Boswell added two more kills to give Loyola the win in the second set.
After Mobile won the third set to take a 2-1 match lead, the Wolf Pack and the Rams played a close fourth game before Loyola forced a deciding fifth set. The fourth had 11 ties before Mobile grabbed an 18-17 advantage, and the Rams ended up pushing the score to 21-17 before the Wolf Pack scored eight of the final 10 points to win the set. Alicia Simmons got the rally going with a kill, then Sheperis served up an ace to cut Mobile's lead to 21-20. After Mobile scored one, a ball-handling error and a Boswell kill tied the set for the 12th time, 22-22. A Tyson attack and two errors by the Rams ended the fourth set in Loyola's favor.
The fifth set was just as close as the fourth, but Loyola did start with a 6-2 lead thanks to Bailey's service game. Mobile, however, fought back to take an 8-7 lead. O'Neal finished things off with her serve, recording two aces down the stretch, while Boswell and Tyson each had kills to help Loyola claim the match.
"We had another full team effort tonight. From the bench to the court, everyone was all-in and refused to lose this match. I cannot say enough how impressed I am with how our team learned and grew throughout the week to have such a strong weekend against two tough teams. We had to make some changes for tonight's match to be successful against a strong Mobile attack and the team did a fantastic job adjusting without missing a step. Gracie and Kailyn had another well-balanced night and made great choices offensively. They also led the charge at the service line during the most critical moments of the match. Simone Tyson and Preslie Boswell found great success on the pins, and Simone Moreau absolutely owned the backcourt. We are so proud of how well the team managed emotions, in-game changes, and being down. Their view of the big picture stayed clear while paying attention to all of the small details. We look forward to seeing our continued growth on the court.
Pack Facts
It's the second straight season the Wolf Pack has started SSAC play 5-1. Prior to last season, Loyola hadn't started that well in conference play since joining the league in 2010.
Simone Tyson notched her third straight double-double Saturday, totaling 17 kills and 14 digs. It's also her sixth one of the season.
Kailyn O'Neal was another Wolf Pack player with a double-double, leading the team with 23 assists and 14 digs. It was her fifth double-double of the season.
Gracie Bailey had 18 assists and 16 digs in the win, which is the fourth double-double of the season for the junior.
Jordan Bernard recorded her first double-digit kill match of the season, tallying 10 for a new season-high.
Preslie Boswell also had a season-high, as the freshman had 13 kills against Mobile.
Simone Moreau led the Wolf Pack with 24 digs, which was the fourth 20-dig match of the season for the freshman libero. Her career-high is 27.
Moreau was also the fourth Loyola player with a double-double, recording a season-high 12 assists.
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