Box Score The Loyola volleyball team won all six sets it play this weekend, defeating Middle Georgia State in straight sets Saturday after sweeping Brewton-Parker Friday night
MACON, Ga. – The Loyola Wolf Pack finished their Georgia road trip Saturday with a sweep of Middle Georgia State (25-22, 25-16, 25-15), earning their second consecutive straight-sets win after beating Brewton-Parker 3-0 Friday night. The win moves the Wolf Pack to 8-6 overall this season and 3-1 in Southern States Athletic Conference play.
Loyola will play their first home matches since Friday, Aug. 27, when Faulkner and Mobile travel to New Orleans next weekend. First, Loyola will host Faulkner Friday at 7 p.m., then it'll take on Mobile at 5 p.m. on Saturday to wrap up another conference weekend. Both matches will be played at Xavier's Convocation Center.
The first set stayed close throughout, as the two teams were tied 13 times before Loyola could win the opening game 25-22. The Wolf Pack never had a lead larger than three either, taking a three-point lead three times during the set. Emily Sheperis, Brittany Cooper and Alicia Simmons got Loyola's first few points, then Simone Tyson broke a 12-12 tie with a kill to spark a quick 3-0 run for the Wolf Pack. After MGA battled to tie the set, 20-20, Simmons added two more attacks, and Sheperis and Tyson each had one kill down the stretch to hold on for the first-set win.
Cooper and Simmons got off to a hot start for the Wolf Pack in the second set, each recording a pair of kills to give Loyola an early 6-2 advantage. Middle Georgia fought back to cut Loyola's lead to one three times, the last time being 12-11 before the Wolf Pack scored nine out of 10 points to run away with the second-set win. Tyson had three kills during that stretch, leading the Wolf Pack with six in the set.
The Wolf Pack kept getting stronger as the match went on, earning the sweep over Middle Georgia with a 25-15 third-set win. Attacks by Sheperis and Preslie Boswell helped Loyola take a 4-0 lead to start the third game, then two more kills by those two made it 6-1. Tyson and Gabriela Martinez got on the board to extend the Pack's advantage to 11-6, and Simone Moreau's service game sparked a quick 5-0 run to push the score to 16-8. Then Simmons recorded three kills late in the set to help put the match away.
Wolf Pack in the National Spotlight
The Loyola Wolf Pack volleyball team was featured on ABC's Good Morning America Saturday morning, as ABC reporter Janai Norman sat down with head coach Jesse Zabal, assistant coach Robert Pitre, and student-athletes Milabella Vasquez and Rebecca LaCour earlier this week. The story featured how the team showed resilience during its Hurricane Ida evacuation, while also thanking the many individuals who helped the team in different ways throughout the team's displacement.
"Today was a strong day for our team. They did a fantastic job of sticking to the game plan, making small adjustments, and supporting each other through the whole match. Gracie and Kailyn did a great job of spreading the ball to our hitters. Emily had another phenomenal match, showing up big for us offensively and defensively. Alicia Simmons continued to be a consistent attacker for us and made some great swings. We have two tough matches next weekend, but we are ecstatic to get to play those in New Orleans."
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.
