Wolf Pack wins at UT Southern

PULASKI, Tenn. – The Loyola Wolf Pack volleyball team bounced back from Friday's loss on Saturday, sweeping the UT Southern Firehawks (25-15, 25-20, 25-17) on the road to improve their league record to 12-2. 
 

Now 22-5 overall, Loyola will host William Carey on Saturday, Nov. 4, for its regular season finale. The Pack will honor their seniors prior to the 1 p.m. start to the match.  
 

Simone Tyson and Emily Sheperis started the match with back-to-back kills, then the two each had another kill to keep the opening set tied, 4-4. A quick 4-0 run that ended with a Sheperis service ace gave Loyola the lead for good, 7-4, then Alexa Palmer had a couple of kills to make it a 12-8 advantage for the Wolf Pack. UT Southern trimmed the Loyola lead down to 15-12, but the Pack won 10 of the final 13 points to easily take Set 1. Juliana Pacini led that charge with three kills and Samantha Ingram served two aces, the latter being the set-clincher. 
 

The Firehawks took an early lead in the second set, however, Ellie Connor quickly put the Wolf Pack back ahead with an ace, 5-4. Kills by Palmer, Pacini and Tyson kept the set close, but UT Southern was still able to go back ahead, 11-8. Again, powered by a couple of kills from Pacini, Loyola won the next eight of 10 points to swing momentmn, 16-13, in Loyola's favor. Amaya Bazemore added consecutive kills, and a third moments later, 19-16. Then kills by Palmer, Tyson, Ingram and Preslie Boswell helped put the finishes touches on the game. 
 

Sheperis recorded three kills and Ingram had another ace in the early going of Set 3. Pacini had a couple of kills, too, and Ellie Connor also had an ace to make it a 10-6 Loyola lead. Kills by Sheperis, Connor and Boswell sparked a run that helped the Wolf Pack build a 19-10 lead, then two kills by Tyson and a few errors by the Firehawks helped put the match away. 
 

Wolf Pack Head Coach Jesse Zabal

"I'm really proud of our bounce back. Last night's loss was tough, but this team knows how successful they have been and how many opportunities there are in front of them to continue that success. We had really strong attack efficiency today and ramped our serving back up. It's hard to believe there is only one match remaining in the season, but we're looking forward to celebrating our seniors and finishing out the schedule at home next weekend." 
 

Pack Facts

• This is the first time Loyola has swept both regular season games with UT Southern in a season since 2015. 

• Four different players had at least seven kills for the Pack on Saturday, with Juliana Pacini leading the way at nine kills.

• Amaya Bazemore, Simone Tyson, and Emily Sheperis each finished with seven kills.

• Tyson also had 11 digs, a team high. 

• Ellie Connor averaged almost six assists per set, posting a team-high 17 assists. Samantha Ingram was also in double figures with 11 assists, plus a match-high three aces. 

• Ingram is up to 36 aces this season, second on the team behind Sheperis, who has 39. 

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