Box Score The Loyola Wolf Pack will host Louisiana College Saturday at 2 p.m. for Senior Day in Devlin Fieldhouse
NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola Wolf Pack volleyball team's 11-match Southern States Athletic Conference winning streak came to an end Tuesday, losing to William Carey in a close, five-set match (19-25, 25-22, 25-23, 22-25, 15-13) at Tulane's Devlin Fieldhouse.
The loss didn't hurt the Pack's seeding in next week's SSAC Championship tournament, though, already clinching the No. 1 seed and the regular-season title after last Saturday's win over Blue Mountain. The tournament in Montgomery, Alabama, is set to begin Thursday, Nov. 11 with pool play.
Tuesday was Loyola's final SSAC match, but it'll host Louisiana College on Saturday for Senior Day in the regular-season finale. First serve from Devlin Fieldhouse is set for 2 p.m., but the seniors - Gabriela Martinez, Jordan Bernard, Kailyn O'Neal and Milabella Vasquez - will be honored at 12:45 p.m.
Loyola (18-9, 12-2 in SSAC) got a kill from Emily Sheperis and two service aces from Gracie Bailey to start the first set up 3-0 en route to a 25-19 opening-game win. The Pack extended their lead to 8-4 after consecutive attacks by Alicia Simmons, then kills by Sheperis, Bernard and Preslie Boswell pushed the score to 13-8. Another Bailey ace, a solo block by Sheperis and a block assists from Martinez and Boswell made it an 18-10 lead, but William Carey fought back to cut the score to 20-16. Sheperis, though, notched two kills and an ace down the stretch to take Set 1.
After William Carey won the next two sets to take a 2-1 lead in the match, Loyola dug deep and won the fourth set to force a fifth. After Carey took a 2-0 lead, Simone Tyson found the floor on an attack and Martinez and Bernard combined for a block to give the Pack a 3-2 lead. Boswell and Sheperis added another block assist, and three straight errors by Carey put the Pack up 8-6. Dallis Brown served up an ace, Boswell and Bernard went back-to-back on the attack, and Sheperis had a solo block to go up 17-13, then the Wolf Pack won seven of the final nine points to force a deciding set.
Things were going well for Loyola early in the fifth game, using three errors by Carey and a combined block from Sheperis and Bernard to take a 5-3 lead. Simmons and Boswell notched kills, making it a 7-5 game, and another WCU error made the score 10-7, Loyola. The Lady Crusaders, though, used a 5-0 run to take the lead for good, holding on for the 15-13 fifth-set win.
"Tonight was a long match. Our team continued to fight it out, but it just didn't go our way. Carey played some great volleyball and we just couldn't find as much production from our attackers as we had hoped. We're extremely proud of our 16 team blocks. Coach Robbie has done a great job working with our blockers and creating a plan to stop our opponents' attacks. Emily and Alicia both provided some attacking efficiency for us and Gracie and Kailyn set the ball well. We're very proud of Kailyn for earning the 1,000-assist benchmark tonight! This is our best conference record in over a decade and we couldn't be more proud of what this team has accomplished. We look forward to celebrating our seniors this Saturday then preparing for the conference tournament which begins next week."
Pack Facts
Loyola's final 12-2 SSAC record is the best for the program since joining the league.
With 24 assists in Tuesday's match, senior Kailyn O'Neal eclipsed 1,000 assists for her Wolf Pack career. It's only her second season with the program, too.
O'Neal also had 12 digs to notch her ninth double-double of the season.
Gracie Bailey also recorded a double-double, recording 24 assists and 14 digs, and that's her eighth of the season.
As a team, Loyola had 16 total blocks, which was the most in a match since recording 20 against William Carey in November of 2017.
Emily Sheperis and Gabriela Martinez led that blocking effort with nine and seven, respectively, both career-highs. Preslie Boswell and Jordan Bernard both have five blocks each, too.
Sheperis also earned a new season-high with 14 kills in Tuesday's match, while Bernard (nine), Boswell (nine), Simone Tyson (eight) and Alicia Simmons (eight) all helped power Loyola's attack.
Simone Moreau led the team with 23 digs, which is the sixth match this season with at least that many.
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