TALLADEGA, Ala. – The Loyola University New Orleans volleyball continued its winning ways on Saturday, extending its winning streak to eight straight matches after a three-set win over Talladega College (25-15, 25-16, 25-13). During the hot run, the Wolf Pack has won 24 of 25 sets played to really showcase their dominance, and all eight wins have been over Southern States Athletic Conference foes. 
 

With three more SSAC matches left on the schedule, Loyola is now 12-3 (19-9 overall) in league play and in third place behind William Carey (14-1) and Blue Mountain College (13-1). The Pack will play both teams one more time, too, matching up with the Crusaders in Hattiesburg on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. and hosting the Toppers in The Den on Friday at 6 p.m. 
 

A couple of kills by Emma Fahy got Loyola off to a good start in the first set, 6-2. By the time the team got its 12th point, six different attackers had found the floor to make it a 12-7 lead, and five of those assists came from Gracie Bailey. After Talladega made a run to get back into the game, two kills by Amaya Bazemore made it a five-point lead, 20-15, which started a 6-0 run to help close out the first set. 
 

The Tornadoes took an early lead in the second, but Bazemore tied it a 4 with another kill. Bazemore, along with Simone Tyson, Brittany Cooper and Preslie Boswell, led the charge to keep the set close, 14-13, then the Wolf Pack used a 5-0 run to really grab control of the game. Talladega committed three errors during that stretch, and Bazemore recorded a kill and Simone Moreau served an ace. Cooper recorded three straight kills to end the set and give Loyola a 2-0 lead in the match. 
 

Talladega saw another good start to a set, but kills by Bazemore and Boswell and an ace by Rebecca LaCour made it a 7-7 game in the third. Four straight errors by the Tornadoes gave Loyola the lead, 11-8, then the Pack went on another run with Bailey serving, 16-9. Cooper and LaCour both had aces down the stretch, as Loyola easily finished off the sweep of Talladega.  
 

Wolf Pack Head Coach Jesse Zabal

"So proud of our team this weekend. We continue to learn and grow in new ways each match. Against Life, it was evident that despite any bad calls, tough points, or being down in the set, we weren't going to let it rattle us. We turned points around very quickly and confidently.
 

It was a very similar feel today during the Talladega match, where despite what was happening, there was a steadiness about our group. Amaya Bazemore had a fantastic weekend and continues to evolve in her offensive attack and continues to get stops on the block. And big congratulations to Brittany Cooper for reaching 1,000 career kills this weekend. She's worked very hard to reach this milestone and we're very proud. 
 

We had such great performances from everyone this weekend, and we're proud of how our group continues to come together. We're excited to see William Carey again in a few short days." 
 

Pack Facts

• With three SSAC matches still to play, Loyola has matched its conference win total of 12 from last season. 

• The Wolf Pack have had at least 10 conference wins in each of the last three seasons.

• Loyola was led in attack by Amaya Bazemore, who was untouchable at the net with 10 kills in 13 attacks with no errors. Her hitting percentage of .769 was the second-highest for any Wolf Pack player in a single match this season. 

• Brittany Cooper recorded nine kills, and the senior has surpassed the 1,000-kill mark for her collegiate career. 

• Cooper now has over 1,000 kills and over 1,000 digs for her career. 

• Gracie Bailey could soon get 1,000 digs as well. Bailey, who led the Wolf Pack with 17 assists on Saturday, needs 22 more digs to reach 1,000. 

• Loyola turned in a solid team defensive performance, with Talladega hitting -.034 for the match. Simone Tyson had a match high of 11 digs, while Emily Sheperis was a force at the net with six blocks. 

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.