Box Score The Wolf Pack finished the regular season with a 19-9 overall record after defeating Louisiana Christian University on Saturday
NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola University New Orleans volleyball team closed out the regular season on Saturday, earning a three-set victory (25-22, 25-16, 25-19) on Senior Day over Louisiana Christian University. Four seniors were honored before the game: Milabella Vasquez, Jordan Bernard, Gabriela Martinez, and Kailyn O'Neal.
The Wolf Pack will now look ahead to Thursday, November 11, which will be the first day of competition at the Southern States Athletic Conference Championship tournament in Montgomery, Ala. Loyola enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed, and they open the competition at 11 a.m. against the fifth seed, Faulkner.
Loyola had the first two points of the game off of back-to-back kills from Simone Tyson, but the Wildcats had the lead for the early portion of the set. Then with the visitors leading 8-5, the Wolf Pack scored nine points in a row with Brittany Cooper, the team's leader in aces, serving. Louisiana Christian responded with a five-point run of their own, and neither team would lead by more than three for the remainder of the period. Loyola eventually closed out the set with kills from Tyson and Preslie Boswell to win it 25-22.
Momentum carried into Set 2 for the Wolf Pack, who scored the first five points of the frame. Loyola maintained control throughout the period thanks to a plethora of points from its senior attackers, Martinez and Bernard, who combined for nine kills in the second set alone. The home team cruised to a 25-16 win to go up 2-0 in the match.
Louisiana Christian turned things around to open the third set, scoring the first two points and building as much as a three-point lead early. The latest lead for the Wildcats came at 13-12, after which Loyola out-scored its opponent 13-6. Loyola scored the last five points of the match to win the final period 25-19, with the match-clinching point coming on a service ace from the senior O'Neal.
"Very proud of this team for finishing off the regular season with a win. It was a great way to celebrate our seniors and all they've helped us accomplish over the years. We saw great efficiency from our attackers, and Kailyn and Gracie set the ball well. Simone Moreau had a really strong match today and had some amazing saves for us. We have more ahead of us as we prepare for next week's conference tournament. We're excited to go into the tournament with our first #1 seeding and look forward to the week of competition ahead. Congratulations to our seniors on all they have achieved during their time with the Wolf Pack. We're so grateful for each of them!"
Pack Facts
After six kills in the second set, Jordan Bernard finished with 10 total kills and eight digs. It's her third match this season with double-digit kills.
Gabriela Martinez recorded the best hitting percentage of the Wolf Pack attackers no Saturday. She had five kills with a .385 hitting percentage as well as the first service ace of her career.
After reaching 1,000 career assists earlier in the week, Kailyn O'Neal led the Pack in assists on Saturday with 23. She also had an ace and seven digs.
Simone Tyson had 12 kills to lead Loyola while having a .346 hitting percentage. She also dug the ball eight times.
Simone Moreau was the team's leader in digs against the Wildcats.. She had 18 digs and 6 assists.
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