Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 After beating William Carey in the semifinals Saturday morning, the Wolf Pack volleyball team played for the SSAC Championship tournament title for the second straight season, losing to Blue Mountain College
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Loyola University New Orleans volleyball team split a pair of matches Saturday at the Southern States Athletic Conference Championship in Montgomery, Alabama, but unfortunately, the latter was a 3-0 loss to Blue Mountain College in the title game.
The top-seeded Wolf Pack first played second-seeded William Carey Saturday morning in the SSAC semifinals, taking down the Crusaders in a back-and-forth five-set match. After No. 3 BMC beat No. 4 Mobile in the other semifinal contest, the two met inside the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl later in the afternoon.
The SSAC regular-season champions Wolf Pack (22-11) will now wait until Monday to find out their fate in the NAIA National Championship tournament. The selection show starts at 10 a.m. and will be live-streamed on Facebook.
Loyola 3, William Carey 2 (25-27, 25-21, 25-12, 20-25, 15-6)
The first set was as close as it could be for two teams that split the season series. Loyola held a lead early in the set, after a 5-0 scoring run put the Pack up 13-7, but William Carey stormed back to tie the game at 18-18. The teams traded points until Carey finally got two-straight to win the opener. Simone Moreau's 10 digs in the game played a huge role for the Wolf Pack, too.
Things were different in the following two periods, as Gabriela Martinez and Emily Sheperis both got kills as the first three points of the set went to Loyola. The Pack built as large as an eight-point lead at 14-6 after a 6-0 run that featured kills from four different attackers. Sheperis would finish with eight kills in Set 2 alone as Loyola closed it out 25-21.
Carey scored the first point of the third set, but the score was never really close throughout the period. The Wolf Pack attacked at a .387 clip in Set 3, allowing a hitting percentage of just .029 for the Lady Crusaders. A seven-point scoring run on Brittany Cooper's serve to close out the set, capped off by a kill from the back by Cooper, gave Loyola the set victory and a 3-1 match lead.
Loyola once again scored the first three points at Set 4 began, but the Lady Crusaders steadily gained momentum, gaining the lead at 10-9 and never looking back. A five-point win in the frame by Carey forced a fifth set.
The fifth set opened with Loyola jumping out to a lead at 7-2 with Martinez, Sheperis and Kailyn O'Neal all collecting kills. Carey cut the Wolf Pack lead to 8-6 but they wouldn't score another point, as the No. 1 seed Loyola closed out the set in dominant fashion, scoring seven in a row with O'Neal serving to advance to the Championship match.
Blue Mountain 3, Loyola 0 (26-24, 25-23, 25-23)
Blue Mountain took the first point in what would be a tightly contested opener; neither team held more than a three-point lead during the first set. Loyola fought off a few set points, Simone Tyson had four kills while Preslie Boswell and Sheperis each had three, but it wasn't enough as BMC took Set 1.
The first three points of the second set belonged to the Wolf Pack, but it was another close set, with neither side leading by more than four points throughout. Loyola trailed 22-18 late in the period, but rallied for five-straight points to take a 23-22 lead. Blue Mountain responded with three kills, however, to take the set.
Following the theme of the match so far, Set 3 continued to be a close contest. It came down to the final few points once again, as Loyola tied it at 23-23 before dropping the last two points.
"I am so incredibly proud of our team. With our first match against William Carey, we knew it would be a toe to toe fight. We had to give it all and they did. We served aggressively and made some really great plays on both the offensive and defensive sides of things. Emily absolutely crushed it on offense and had a career high match in kills. Kailyn and Gracie continued to share the setting duties pretty evenly and Simone Moreau really proved why she was co-freshman of the year with 32 digs.
We were excited to make it back to the championship match for the second year in a row and excited to go up against Blue Mountain again. We played well and our team fought hard, but Blue Mountain played a really great game. They served extremely tough and they passed the ball very well. Emily Sheperis continued her hitting efficiency and Simone Tyson was able to get back in a rhythm and earn some more kills than she did against Carey.
This was a really tough week of matches, and I know our team left it all out on the floor. We've had a season unlike any other. I can't say enough how in awe I am of these young women. They have grown so much as individuals and as a team over the past three and a half months, and they have accomplished things that this program has never done or hasn't done in a very long time. Our seniors are leaving it better than they found it and that's all we've ever asked of them. Mila, Jordan, Kailyn, Gaby: thank you so much for your heart, your effort, your time, your energy, for giving all of you to help us be better every day. Love you, kids!"
Pack Facts
A few career-best performances were necessary to beat William Carey in the semifinal match, beginning with Emily Sheperis' dominant performance at the net: 22 kills, a .452 hitting percentage, and nine total blocks.
Simone Moreau came up with 32 digs against Carey, passing her previous career-high by five digs.
Simone Tyson finished with a team-high 11 kills against Blue Mountain and nine against Carey. She also had 20 digs against William Carey, matching a season-high.
Jordan Bernard and Preslie Boswell each put down 10 kills in the semifinal match. Bernard also recorded four blocks.
Kailyn O'Neal led the Wolf Pack with 28 kills in the semifinal, vaulting her into 9th place in assists in Loyola history. She has 1,132 total assists after the Blue Mountain match.
O'Neal was also one of five players with 10+ digs against William Carey. She had 15 digs to achieve her 11th double-double of the season, tied with Tyson for the team lead.
Gracie Bailey also recorded a double-double against Carey with 24 assists and 17 digs. It was her 10th of the season.
Brittany Cooper was the fifth member of the Pack with double-digit digs in the semifinal. She had 14 for the match.
2021 SSAC Volleyball Championship Schedule
Pool Play Day 1 | Nov. 11
Court 1 | Pool A
No. 1 Loyola 3, No. 5 Faulkner 0
No. 4 Mobile 3, No. 8 Brewton-Parker 0
Court 2 | Pool B
No. 2 William Carey 3, No. 6 Talladega 0
No. 3 Blue Mountain 3, No. 7 Middle Georgia 0
Pool Play Day 2 | Nov. 12
Court 1 | Pool A
No. 4 Mobile 3, No. 5 Faulkner 1
No. 1 Loyola 3, No. 8 Brewton-Parker 0
3:00 | No. 5 Faulkner 3, No. 8 Brewton-Parker 0
5:00 | No. 4 Mobile 3, No. 1 Loyola 2
Court 2 | Pool B
No. 3 Blue Mountain 3, No. 6 Talladega 0
No. 2 William Carey 3, No. 7 Middle Georgia 0
No. 7 Middle Georgia 3, No. 6 Talladega 1
No. 2 William Carey 3, No. 3 Blue Mountain 0
Semifinals & Championship | Nov. 13
No. 3 Blue Mountain 3, No. 4 Mobile 2
No. 1 Loyola 3, No. 2 William Carey 2
Championship: No. 3 Blue Mountain 3, No. 1 Loyola 0
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.
