SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Loyola Wolf Pack volleyball team closed out the San Antonio ShinDig on Saturday, losing two hard-fought games against tough competition. Loyola started the day with a four-set loss to No. 23 Southwestern Assemblies of God University before another four-set loss to tournament-host, Our Lady of the Lake University. 

The Wolf Pack has one more weekend tournament left on the schedule before Southern States Athletic Conference play starts, traveling to Joliet, Illinois, next weekend for four matches at the University of St. Francis' Big Dogs Classic. 

#23 SAGU 3, Loyola 1 (14-25, 21-25, 25-20, 15-25)

The first set stayed close in the beginning, but SAGU was able to pull away to win the opening game. Kills by Simone Tyson and Brittany Cooper kept it a 5-5 game, then Amaya Bazemore gave the Pack the lead, 7-6, with a kill of her own. However, the Lions pulled away and won 14 of the final 18 points to take a 1-0 match lead. 

The second set was much closer, as the Wolf Pack got kills from four different hitters to jump up 7-3. Tyson and Bazemore had two kills each during that stretch, and Preslie Boswell and Cooper contributed as well, but SAGU was able to tie the set at 11-all. After a 7-0 run by the Lions, Tyson found the floor three times in four points to make it an 18-18 game, then SAGU pulled away for the 2-0 match lead. 

The Wolf Pack got on the board with a 25-20 third-set win. Back-to-back block assists by Boswell and Sydney Love helped Loyola score the first two points of the game, but the Lions quickly jumped ahead 9-5 shortly after. Attacks by Tyson and Bazemore, along with three SAGU errors helped get the game tied at 11, and Tyson helped regain the lead, 16-14, with a kill and a service ace. After three more ties, Emma Fahy and Tyson secure the win with attacks

However, the Lions pushed ahead at the start of the fourth set on their way to a 25-15 match-clinching win. 

Loyola, OLLU (24-26, 17-25, 25-23, 17-25)

Kills by Tyson, Boswell and Love, along with a couple of OLLU errors helped Loyola take a 7-5 advantage through the first 12 points of the match. A couple of minutes later, Fahy added an attack to push the Pack's advantage to 14-10, however, five straight points by the tournament-host flipped the lead on the scoreboard, 15-14, in the Saints' favor. Love put Loyola back on top, 17-16, and Cooper and Bazemore found a hole in the OLLU defense to make it a two-point game, 21-19. With the game tied at 24-24, though, the Saints scored the final two points to take a 1-0 match lead. 

The Wolf Pack had a strong start to the second set thanks to kills by Cooper and Boswell, but Our Lady of the Lakes went on a run to take a 10-6 lead. The Pack couldn't recover, dropping the second set 25-17. 

The Wolf Pack fought back to win the third set, battling out of a 17-13 hole. Love and Bazemore helped get the comeback started, and Cooper recorded a kill and two aces to help cut the deficit to 21-20. Two Tyson kills to put the Pack ahead, 23-22, then a block assist by Fahy and Love and a Tyson attack made it a 2-1, OLLU, match score. The Saints were able to close out the match, though, winning the fourth set 

Pack Facts

• Simone Tyson had a double-double in both matches on Saturday, with 13 kills/10 digs against SAGU and 13  kills/13 digs against OLLU. 

• Amaya Bazemore reached her season high in kills against SAGU with 12. 

• After making her collegiate debut with seven blocks across two matches on Friday, Sydney Love surpassed that total in just the first match on Saturday with nine total blocks, four solo. 

• Simone Moreau recorded 29 digs against OLLU, the second-highest total of her Wolf Pack career. Two of her top three defensive performances have come this weekend at the San Antonio ShinDig tournament. 

• Gracie Bailey continued her streak of double-digit assists in every match this season. She had 15 assists against OLLU, with a team-high 23 coming against SAGU.

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.