Box Score The Loyola Wolf Pack got back to their winning ways Saturday with a 3-1 victory over Blue Mountain College in The Den
NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola Wolf Pack volleyball team sent their lone senior, Helene Masone, out a winner Saturday, defeating Blue Mountain College 3-1 (25-17, 20-25, 25-14, 25-17) in the team's final home match of the season. The win moved Loyola to 11-6 overall and 9-2 in the Southern States Athletic Conference, making it a three-way tie in first place with William Carey and Mobile.
Loyola started the day with a 25-17 first-set win, but the two teams played a close set until the Wolf Pack pulled away. Blue Mountain built an early 6-3 lead, but Jordan Bernard had back-to-back kills to cut the score to 6-5, then she added a third to put the Pack up 9-7. The two teams were tied three times until Loyola grabbed a lead for good, 12-11. From there, Jules Mokry had three kills and Bernard had two more, then Kailyn O'Neal, Casey Aucoin and Brittany Cooper helped Loyola finish the set.
Blue Mountain answered with a 25-20 second-set win, but Loyola made it interesting late. The Wolf Pack's late rally carried over into the third set, though, easily regaining the match lead after a dominating 25-14 Set 3 win. With the game tied 7-7, the Wolf Pack used a kill from Mokry and a couple of BMC attacking errors to jump up 14-9. Mokry and Cooper found the floor again, then Helene Masone served an ace to extend the advantage to 21-13. Aucoin put an exclamation point on the set, notching back-to-back kills to put Loyola back up in the match, 2-1.
Emily Sheperis got the offense started in the fourth game, then Bernard and Cooper scored three straight points to start the set up 6-4. The Lady Toppers stayed within two points of Loyola until they tied the game 11-11, then kills by O'Neal and Aucoin gave the Wolf Pack some cushion, 17-13. BMC tried to stay in the game, cutting the deficit to 17-15, but O'Neal had a service ace and Cooper, Aucoin, Bernard and Sheperis all had kills down the stretch to put the match away.
The Wolf Pack will hit the road for their final three regular-season SSAC matches. Loyola will first take on Mobile Tuesday at 7 p.m. before a weekend road trip to Faulkner and Middle Georgia State Friday and Saturday.
"We got back in the win column this afternoon with a solid performance from the entire team. We had much better focus at the service line, and we were able to turn around after a rough second set and cleaned up our game. We have been steadily improving on our offensive efficiency and have been putting up great numbers as a team. Jordan and Brittany really played well, especially after a tough match for each of them last night. They really used this match as a way to learn from last night's challenges and figure out ways to give back to the team. Defensively, we saw great performances from Brittany, Kailyn, and Helene in the backcourt, and Emily and Jordan really took control of the blocking game. We're entering our last week of the regular season and we're all excited to keep growing & competing."
Pack Facts
Helene Masone recorded her second-most digs in a match this season with 26 Saturday, making it 30 straight games with double-digit digs.
Kailyn O'Neal needed just three more kills to earn her second triple-double of the season, as she finished with 25 assists, 15 digs and seven kills.
Jordan Bernard led the Wolf Pack with 14 kills, earning a new career-high.
Brittany Cooper was next on the team in kills with 13, and she had her sixth double-double of the season with 11 digs as well.
Emily Sheperis and Bernard both totaled six block assists, as Bernard notched another career-high.
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