Volleyball wins seventh straight Saturday

MARIETTA, Ga. – In a matchup of two teams near the top of the Southern States Athletic Conference standings, the Loyola Wolf Pack won a three-set match at Life University on Saturday (25-18, 25-16, 25-13) to improve their league record to 9-1. The Running Eagles are now 7-2 in SSAC play, as both teams are chasing Blue Mountain Christian (10-0). 
 

Loyola, which now has an 18-4 overall record, will take a break from conference play on Tuesday with a contest against cross-town rival Xavier. First serve from XULA's Convocation Center is set for 6 p.m. 
 

Life started the match with a quick 3-1 lead in the first set, but Loyola used a 6-0 run a few points later to jump ahead 10-5. Six different Wolf Pack attackers recorded kills during those first 10 points, as the team's setters, Samantha Ingram and Ellie Connor, delivered those assists. Life fought back to make it a one-point game, 12-11, but Amaya Bazemore ended that momentum with back-to-back kills. Simone Tyson notched two more kills, then when the Running Eagles tried to make another comeback, Loyola won the final five points behind kills and blocks from Bazemore and Preslie Boswell. 
 

Like the first set, the Wolf Pack got another early run to separate themselves from their opponent, and it was another 6-0 run to give Loyola a 10-5 lead. Three straight service aces by Emily Sheperis highlighted that run, then Juliana Pacini also had an ace to keep the Pack ahead, 15-8. Boswell and Bazemore each had two more kills during the final 10 points, as Loyola cruised to the second-set win without much of a threat by the hosts. 
 

Life won the first three points in the third set, but that was about all the Wolf Pack would allow. Trailing 4-2, Loyola won 16 of the next 18 points to take a commanding 18-6 lead. Simone Moreau served an ace to get that run started, then Ingram's serve led to 11 straight winners. Sheperis finished the set with a couple of blocks and four kills, her last being the match-clincher.
 

Head Coach Jesse Zabal

"The team played extremely balanced today. I felt like the team went in really believing that they were going to control the whole match and they did just that. One big difference maker was how aggressive are serves were. That's one aspect of our game that we've been working on for the past couple of weeks, but we really saw it come to life today. We kept Life out of system more often than not, which really allowed our defense to play balanced and get our attackers in system. 

Preslie had a really strong match today. Anytime a hitter can go zero errors on double digit attempts is impressive. Ellie really stepped up her defensive game and it put us in some great positions to score. Emily also put a lot of points in the board for us as an attacker and a server." 
 

Pack Facts

• Loyola had a balanced attack on Saturday, with Amaya Bazemore, Simone Tyson, and Emily Sheperis leading the team with seven kills apiece. Preslie Boswell and Alexa Palmer each had six kills. 

• Tyson and Juliana Pacini were also strong in the back row with 11 digs each. 

• Sheperis had a match high of three service aces, all coming consecutively in the second set. 

• The Wolf Pack's final hitting percentage of .314 marked the team's 10th match this season with a hitting percentage above .300. Seven of those matches have come in conference play. 

• Ellie Connor led the Pack in digs with 12, a season high, while also posting 11 assists for her third double-double of the season. 

• Samantha Ingram finished the match with 16 assists, a team high. 

• Loyola improved to 18-4 on the season and 9-1 in conference play. The team has compiled at least nine conference wins in each of the last five seasons. 

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