MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Loyola Wolf Pack volleyball team won their second consecutive Southern States Athletic Conference contest on Tuesday, winning a three-set road matchup over the Faulkner Eagles (25-19, 25-17, 27-25). The Pack (13-9, 6-3 in SSAC) is set to return to The Den this Friday and Saturday, hosting Middle Georgia State first at 6 p.m. on Friday and Brewton-Parker the following day at noon. 
 

Juliet Petruzelli got the Wolf Pack going to start Tuesday's match, serving up two aces through Loyola's first three points, then a kill by Preslie Boswell made it an early 5-2 lead. After Faulkner tied it a 7-all, Loyola used a 7-2 run to jump ahead 14-9 in the set. Brittany Cooper had a couple of kills, Gracie Bailey recorded an ace and Emily Sheperis found the floor on an attack during that stretch, and more kills by Cooper and Boswell made it a 19-14 lead. Still leading by five late in the set, Simone Tyson put the finishing touches on the game to give the Pack a 1-0 lead in the match. 
 

Loyola started the second set hot with five straight points, prompting a quick Faulkner timeout. Sheperis, Tyson and Emma Fahy kept it going with attacks, extending the advantage to 8-2, and consecutive kills by Amaya Bazemore and Boswell made it an 11-3 score. Sheperis notched two more kills, 16-8, which was followed up by three kills by Boswell, 23-14. From there, the Pack easily took a 2-0 lead in the match. 
 

The Pack got off to another good start in the third set, using two kills by Tyson and another by Fahy to take a 5-1 lead. Bazemore and Cooper helped the team win four straight points a few minutes later, 9-3, and an ace by Bailey put the Pack ahead, 13-8. Faulkner, however, won seven straight points to take a 15-13 lead, and from there, the two teams traded the lead twice before the Eagles built a 23-20 score. Bazemore and Cooper tallied back-to-back kills to cut the deficit to one, then after Faulkner brought it to set-point, Fahy and Cooper combined to give Loyola a 25-24 lead. The home team tied it, 25-25, but a service error and a kill by Tyson ended the match.  
 

Wolf Pack Head Coach Jesse Zabal

"Very proud of our group tonight. It is incredibly tough to be on a bus for five hours and go into a match. The fight and focus they showed at the end of the third set to earn the sweep was awesome. Faulkner is a strong team and has been doing some great things in conference matchups. They have a lot of options, but I think we were just ready, and the team really bought in to the preparation and planning we did for today." 
 

Amaya, Brittany, Ty, and Emma all had really strong offensive games for us. Our setters made some great choices and helped them be successful. Simone Moreau once again showed out in the back row. She's come alive in the past few weeks and has just approached the game with a different mindset, and it's been fun to watch. From strong ace and blocking numbers, it was just an overall great match. We needed this win and to remember what this feels like." 
 

Pack Facts

• Dating back to April 2021, Loyola has won the last five matchups with Faulkner, including two matches at the SSAC Championship tournament. 

• Loyola kept Faulkner at a .000 hitting percentage through the first two sets. For the match, the Wolf Pack out-hit the Lady Eagles .234 to .115.

• Simone Moreau led the team with 23 digs. It was the highest dig total of any three-set match in her career, as she averaged nearly eight digs per set in the match. 

• Brittany Cooper posted double-digit kills for the fourth match in a row, finishing the match with 10 kills, 13 digs, and an ace. It was her fourth double-double of the season.

• Simone Tyson also had a double-double, her team-leading seventh off the season, with a stat line of 10 kills, 10 digs, two aces, and a .346 hitting percentage. 

• Tyson and Cooper have each recorded double-doubles in their last two matches. 

• Gracie Bailey and Rebecca LaCour were almost even in assists: Bailey had 18 and LaCour had 17. 

• Loyola had six different players with at least five kills in the match, including Cooper and Tyson with 10 each, Amaya Bazemore with seven, Preslie Boswell and Emily Sheperis with six, and Emma Fahy with five. 

• Bazemore and Sheperis tied for the team lead with four blocks. 

• The Wolf Pack compiled seven service aces to Faulkner's three. Bailey, Tyson, and Juliet Petruzelli all served two aces while Cooper had one. 

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.