Loyola volleyball begins season with two wins Friday

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Loyola University New Orleans volleyball team started its season on the right note Friday, winning both its matches at the Keiser University-hosted Chick-Fil-A Classic in West Palm Beach, Florida. The day started with a straight-sets win over Olivet Nazarene (25-19, 25-17, 25-11), then the Wolf Pack won a four-set match over Doane University (29-27, 22-25, 25-19, 25-19).

The Wolf Wack will play two more matches on Saturday, beginning with an 8 a.m. EDT tilt with Morningside (Iowa) before playing Dakota State (S.D.) at 10 a.m.

Loyola 3, Olivet Nazarene 0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-11)

The Wolf Pack jumped out to an early lead with a 25-19 win in the opening frame. Beginning the action with a kill by Emily Sheperis, Loyola secured the first two points and led for the entire set. Simone Tyson picked up where she left off after last season's All-American performance, serving up two aces with four kills in the first set. Gracie Bailey assisted on two of those kills, with seven total assists in the set. 

Tyson tallied five more kills in the following frame, and once again, the Wolf Pack never trailed as Loyola took Set 2, 25-17. The Pack got off to a hot start in the set to keep up their momentum, as two kills by Preslie Boswell and Tyson and a kill by Sheperis helped build a 7-2 advantage. After ONU cut the score to 12-11, three kills in five points by Tyson pushed the lead back out to three, 17-14, and errors by the opposition put Loyola in complete control, 20-15. Emma Fahy and Sheperis on the attack, along with a service ace by Simone Moreau gave Loyola a 2-0 match lead. 

The third set was the most lopsided yet at 25-11, as the Pack earned the season's first victory. Olivet Nazarene kept up with the Pack through the first four points, 2-2, but Gabby Masiello served up a couple of aces and Amaya Bazemore found the floor four times to push the game nearly out of reach, 15-4. In fact, Bazemore finished things off with her 11th kill to seal the match. 

Loyola 3, Doane 1 (29-27, 22-25, 25-19, 25-19)

Closer than any of the sets from the previous match, the Tigers and Wolf Pack battled past 25 points in the first set. Doane held a lead as late as 27-26, but Loyola regained control, scoring the final three points of the period to go up 1-0. Simone Moreau served back-to-back aces to close out the first set. Brittany Cooper led the way with four kills in Set 1. 

The Tigers were able to tie the match at 1-1, but Loyola would regain momentum in the third period. With the set tied at 12-12, a 7-1 run by the Wolf Pack gave the team the big boost it needed to take a 2-1 set lead. Simone Tyson, who had four kills in the frame, closed out Set 3 with two-straight aces. 

Tyson had five more kills in Set 4 as Loyola was able to carry their momentum into a 6-1 start. Doane came back to tie at 10-10, but the Wolf Pack outscored the Tigers 15-9 in the remainder of the set to clinch the team's second victory of the season. 

Wolf Pack Head Coach Jesse Zabal

"Today was an incredibly strong start for our program. We knew both matches would be tough and being that these were opponents we hadn't seen before, it was definitely a learn & go situation. Our team adapted so well and continues to grow to be a standout in the NAIA. 

"Against ONU, we were very effective on offense. Amaya Bazemore led the way with her ridiculous .647 hitting percentage. Our Doane match gave us some early opportunities to grow. We were down & had to fight back, we lost a set, and Doane just picked up so many balls. I'm incredibly proud of the team's persistence and their ability to pull themselves out of any funk we were experiencing. Tyson's 13 kills, Mo's 17 digs, and our collective 16 aces really kept pressure on the opponent, and our team earned every bit of that win. We'll have another tough two tomorrow and look forward to the challenge."

Pack Facts

• This is the second time in the last three years that Loyola has begun its volleyball season 2-0. The team also won its first two games in 2020. 

• Loyola's collective hitting percentage against Olivet Nazarene was .439. The team only eclipsed that mark once last season. 

• The Wolf Pack had four players register double-digit attacks with a hitting percentage of at least .500 against Olivet. Amaya Bazemore (.647) and Simone Tyson (.563) tied for the team lead in the match with 11 kills each. Emily Sheperis (.571) recorded eight kills.

• Emma Fahy set a new career high in the first match of the day. Fahy had just nine total kills last year, but she came up with five kills in just 10 attempts against ONU. 

• With 10 kills against Doane, Brittany Cooper reached double-digit kills for the first time since Sept. 14 last season. She also logged eight digs.

• Tyson was the other Wolf Pack player with double-figure kills in the Doane match, tallying a team-high 13 kills. Cooper and Tyson each also served four aces in the match. 

• Gracie Bailey led the team in assists in both matches, with 18 against ONU and 21 against Doane. 

• Newcomer Gabby Masiello had 17 assists in each match, and she had a team-high four aces in the opener. 

• In her second year as Loyola's libero, Simone Moreau went for double-digit digs in both matches: 11 against ONU and 17 vs. Doane. She also had four aces on the day.

• Overall in the win against Doane, the Wolf Pack compiled 16 aces, which is the highest team total since September 16, 2019 against Middle Georgia. 

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.