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11.10.23_Loyola vs SSAC Championship

Volleyball loses in SSAC Championship Semifinals

The Wolf Pack volleyball team beat UT Southern earlier in the day before suffering a loss to Mobile in the semifinal round

11/10/2023 9:44:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Southern States Athletic Conference Championship came to an end for the Loyola Wolf Pack volleyball team on Friday, losing in the semifinal round to Mobile in four sets. Loyola beat UT Southern in straight sets earlier in the day to set up the semifinal matchup with the Rams. 
 

The Wolf Pack (26-6) will now wait for the NAIA National Championship announcement on Monday to see if their season continues. The Selection Show is slated for 2 p.m. on the NAIA's YouTube Channel. 
 

#2 Loyola 3, #7 UT Southern 0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-10)

Simone Tyson recorded four kills in the early portion of Set 1, giving Loyola an 11-5 lead. Samantha Ingram and Ellie Connor also combined for three aces during that opening stretch, then Emily Sheperis and Tyson each added two kills to extend the lead to 19-12. Sheperis also picked up an ace to help give Loyola a 1-0 lead in the match. 
 

The second set played much closer. There were four ties leading to a 10-10 score, as Amaya Bazemore, Tyson and Sheperis all had a couple of kills. Alexa Palmer notched three kills during the next six points, 14-12, but the Firehawks would stay close and eventually tie it at 19-19 and take a 21-20 lead. Loyola won the final five points, though, powered by kills from Tyson and Preslie Boswell and a few UT Southern attacking errors. 
 

The third set was all Loyola. Bazemore and Palmer combined for two early blocks, then Bazemore and Juliana Pacini combined for another to give Loyola a 5-1 lead. Pacini's serve led to an 8-0 run to push the advantage to 11-1, and Simone Moreau's serve led to a 6-0 run to make it a 17-2 lead. Two kills by Bazemore and a kill each from Sheperis, Tyson and Boswell finished off the match. 
 

SEMIFINAL: #5 Mobile 3, #2 Loyola 1 (29-27, 18-25, 25-21, 25-21)

After dropping a hard-fought first set, Loyola evened the match in the second game. Sheperis got things going with an ace and a kill and Palmer got an early kill, but the two teams were tied eight times until the Wolf Pack won five of the next six points to take a 15-11 lead. Sheperis had another ace during that stretch, as well as Boswell finding the floor on an attack. A Sheperis-Palmer block and a kill by Palmer kept Loyola ahead, 19-15, prompting a Mobile timeout. Ingram came out of the timeout with a service ace, and two kills by Sheperis and another by Pacini tied the match, 1-1. 
 

Loyola would go on to lose the final two sets by the same score, 25-21. Palmer got a couple of kills early in the third set, but Mobile would extend its lead out to 11-5 quickly. An ace by Connor brought the score down to 12-10, and kills by Palmer, Tyson and Boswell kept things close, 18-16. Bazemore had back-to-back kills to bring it to a one-point game, 19-18, but Mobile won six of the final nine points to go up 2-1 in the match. 
 

The fourth set featured five ties by the time the game reached 9-9, then after Mobile pulled ahead, Moreau tied things again, 14-14, with an ace. Three more ties brought the game to 18-18, but the Rams pulled away to take the match. 
 

Pack Facts

  • Alexa Palmer had seven kills against UT Southern, followed by a new career high of 11 kills against Mobile. 

  • Simone Tyson, who had nine digs in each match, eclipsed the 1,000-dig mark for her career, ending the tournament with 1,011 for her career. 

  • Tyson also led the team with 11 kills on a .450 hitting percentage against UT Southern.

  • Amaya Bazemore registered nine kills in each match, with only three errors combined between the matches. 

  • Loyola hit over .300 in every match of the tournament. 

  • Bazemore's .389 hitting percentage this year is the best in a single season by any player in Wolf Pack history. 

  • Emily Sheperis' career hitting percentage of .318 would rank second in program history, only behind Bazemore, whose two-year hitting percentage with the Pack stands at .355.

  • Ellie Connor posted over 20 assists in each match, with 21 against UT Southern and 24 against Mobile. 

  • Simone Moreau moved into eight in the Loyola record book in career digs, with 1,380 total.

 

2023 SSAC Volleyball Championship Schedule

Day 1 - Pool A | Nov. 9
9:00 a.m. | No. 1 Blue Mountain def. No. 5 Mobile, 3-0
11:30 a.m. | No. 4 Point def. No. 8 Faulkner, 3-0
2:00 p.m. | No. 5 Mobile def. No. 8 Faulkner, 3-0
4:30 p.m. | No. 1  Blue Mountain def. No. 4 Point, 3-0
 

Day 1 - Pool B | Nov. 9
9:00 a.m. | No. 2 Loyola def. No. 6 William Carey, 3-0
11:30 a.m. | No. 3 Life def. No. 7 UT Southern, 3-1
2:00 p.m. | No. 6 William Carey def. No. 7 UT Southern, 3-2
4:30 p.m. | No. 2 Loyola def. No. 3 Life, 3-0
 

Day 2 - Pool A | Nov. 10
11:00 a.m. | No. 1 Blue Mountain def. No. 8 Faulkner, 3-0
1:30 p.m. | No. 5 Mobile def. No. 4 Point, 3-1
5:30 p.m. | Semifinal | No. 1 Blue Mountain def. No. 6 William Carey, 3-0 
 

Day 2 - Pool B | Nov. 10
11:00 a.m. | No. 2 Loyola def. No. 7 UT Southern, 3-0
1:30 p.m. | No. 6 William Carey def. No. 3 Life, 3-0
5:30 p.m. | Semifinal | No. 5 Mobile def. No. 2 Loyola, 3-1 
 

Day 3 | Nov. 11
2:00 p.m. | No. 1 Blue Mountain v. No. 5 Mobile
 

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