Box Score The Wolf Pack won their first pool play match Thursday and they're set for two more matches Friday against Brewton-Parker and Mobile
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The regular-season champion Loyola Wolf Pack began the 2021 SSAC Volleyball Championship with a strong performance against No. 5 seed Faulkner, winning 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-14).
Playing as the top seed in the tournament for the first time, the Wolf Pack improved to 20-9 on the season, marking the most wins for the program since 2012. They'll look to add to that win total on Friday as the team continues pool play with matches against Brewton-Parker at 12:30 p.m. and Mobile at 5 p.m.
Faulkner struck first but Loyola held the lead for most of the first set, where the Wolf Pack hit at a .300 clip behind eight kills from Simone Tyson. Loyola's largest lead of the period came at 13-7 as the team looked to have a comfortable lead, but the Lady Eagles came back to take a lead at 19-17. The Pack closed out the frame with an 8-3 scoring run, with the winning point appropriately coming on a kill from Tyson.
Loyola got the first point of Set 2 and never trailed throughout the period, using two kills each from Tyson and Emily Sheperis to jump up 5-3. Brittany Cooper recorded back-to-back kills, two attacks by Preslie Boswell and a service ace by Gracie Bailey extended the advantage to 15-8. The Wolf Pack built a lead as large as an 11-point advantage at 21-10, thanks to three straight kills by Tyson and an ace by Sheperis, and fought off a late comeback effort by Faulkner to take it 25-21.
The third set was all Wolf Pack, as the first five points went to the top seed with three kills coming from Boswell in that stretch. Faulkner would come back to cut the lead to one point at 9-8, but Alicia Simmons got on the board and an ace by Kailyn O'Neal to help Loyola dominate the rest of the set, cruising to a 25-14 set victory.
"We are very proud of how our team came out ready to play this morning. They prepared very well this week and went in trusting the game plan and executed it very well. We knew Faulkner would put up a great fight and it would be up to us to stay on course and earn the win. All of our attackers played very well, with Simone Tyson, Preslie Boswell, Jordan Bernard, Emily Sheperis, and Gabriela Martinez putting up strong numbers. Kailyn and Gracie both moved the ball around so well which helped lead a balanced attack. Simone Moreau once again made some fantastic defensive plays for us in the backcourt. We have more work to do as the week progresses, but we are excited to celebrate a strong season tonight at the awards ceremony."
Pack Facts
This is the first time the Loyola volleyball program has reached 20 wins since the 2012 season, when the Pack finished with a 28-9 overall record.
After eliminating the Lady Eagles in last season's SSAC Championship, Loyola swept Faulkner this season, winning all three matches, two of which were in Montgomery.
After eight kills in the first set, Simone Tyson finished with a game-high 18 kills. She's had five performances this year with at least 18 kills, three of which came against Faulkner.
Preslie Boswell was the other player with double-digit kills for the Pack. She finished with 10 kills; it was her fifth match this season with at least 10.
Gracie Bailey finished with 19 assists and two aces, surpassing 1,500 assists for her career.
Kailyn O'Neal recorded a match-high 21 assists.
Simone Moreau led the team with 19 digs and two service aces, while Brittany Cooper had 10 digs. Cooper also was perfect attacking from the back row, finding the floor for kills three times in three attempts.
2021 SSAC Volleyball Championship Schedule
Pool Play Day 1 | Nov. 11
Court 1 | Pool A
11:00 | No. 1 Loyola 3, No. 5 Faulkner 0
1:30 | No. 4 Mobile v. No. 8 Brewton-Parker
Court 2 | Pool B
11:00 | No. 2 William Carey 3, No. 6 Talladega 0
1:30 | No. 7 Middle Georgia v. No. 3 Blue Mountain
Pool Play Day 2 | Nov. 12
Court 1 | Pool A
10:00 | No. 4 Mobile (0-0) v. No. 5 Faulkner (0-1)
12:30 | No. 1 Loyola (1-0) v. No. 8 Brewton-Parker - Live Stats | Watch Live
3:00 | No. 5 Faulkner (0-1) v. No. 8 Brewton-Parker (0-0)
5:00 | No. 1 Loyola (1-0) v. No. 4 Mobile (0-0) - Live Stats | Watch Live
Court 2 | Pool B
10:00 | No. 6 Talladega (0-1) v. No. 3 Blue Mountain (0-0)
12:30 | No. 2 William Carey (0-0)(1-0) v. No. 7 Middle Georgia (0-0)
3:00 | No. 6 Talladega (0-1) v. No. 7 Middle Georgia (0-0)
5:00 | No. 3 Blue Mountain (0-0) v. No. 2 William Carey (1-0)
Semifinals & Championship | Nov. 13
10:00 | Pool A 1 v. Pool B 2
10:00 | Pool A 2 v. Pool B 1
2:00 | Championship
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.
