Volleyball season ends in National Championship opening round

ASHLAND, Ore. – Playing in the program's first NAIA National Volleyball Championship tournament match since the 2002 season, the Loyola Wolf Pack put up a valiant effort but ultimately fell to No. 12 Southern Oregon 3-1 to end the Wolf Pack's season.
 

Loyola finishes the season with a 26-7 overall record, the team's best win-loss record of the Jesse Zabal era. It's the most wins in a season since 2012, and the fewest losses for the program ever. 
 

Southern Oregon jumped out to an early lead in their home gym, claiming the first four points of the match before Simone Tyson ended that run with a kill. The Raiders would quickly run up another four points to make it 9-2, and Loyola wouldn't recover as the home team took the first set 25-13.
 

Loyola again went down early at 3-1 in the second period, but the Pack took its first lead at 4-3 after kills from Tyson and Preslie Boswell plus an ace from Emily Sheperis. Another 3-0 run, capped off by a Sheperis kill, got the score to 10-6 as SOU called timeout. The Raiders came back to tie things at 14-14, but some home errors and two kills from Alexa Palmer made things 18-14, prompting another SOU timeout. The Wolf Pack set up set point on back-to-back strong kills from Tyson, then wrapped up the set 25-23 off of a Raider error at the net. 
 

Not much separated the teams in the early going of the third, with five ties coming early, but the Wolf Pack were unable to grab the lead. After Southern Oregon built as large as a four-point advantage at 18-14, Loyola steadily came back with a kill and two blocks by Sheperis, then two consecutive kills from Boswell gave Loyola a 20-19 lead. After SOU called timeout, the Raiders regained control with four straight points, eventually winning the set 25-22 to go up 2-1 in the match. 
 

Sheperis put down a kill to start the fourth frame as the Pack went up early, but again the teams played close with eight ties occurring before two aces by Simone Tyson gave Loyola a 14-11 lead. The Wolf Pack kept a small advantage over Southern Oregon until late in the set, when the Raiders, down 22-18, rallied back to take a lead and hold set point at 24-23. Loyola responded with two straight points to have their own set point at 25-24, but the Raiders again rallied to score three in a row and take the match. 
 

Wolf Pack Head Coach Jesse Zabal

"I am nothing but proud of this team. We all know the best outcome of a win or go home situation, and it just didn't go that way for us. We made some changes this week to give us the best shot against SOU and I think these young women responded incredibly well. SOU is very talented and we knew we'd be going up one of the best blocks that we've seen all season. The first set was really about us settling in, and I knew we'd shock SOU once we found our bearings.
 

Amaya and Emily really showed up well in the middle for us and Ty kept solid efficiency throughout the match. Ty also had a strong defensive game alongside Ellie and Mo. Overall, our setters really stepped up defensively, which was important for this match. Sam had a great night connecting with hitters as well. It's difficult not to mention everyone here, because they were all a part of our success, whether their stats show it or not. This team unequivocally made history this season and I know we can all carry that with us forever." 
 

Pack Facts

• Loyola's 26 wins in 2023 were the most in a season for the team since 2012.

• The Wolf Pack also set a new program record for fewest losses in a season with seven. 

• In her last match as a senior, Emily Sheperis led the team with 12 kills and four blocks. That brings her to 950 kills in four seasons, plus 359 career blocks, which ranks fifth in Loyola history.

• Sheperis also finished the season with a career hitting percentage of .319, which ranks second in program history and first among four-year players. 

• Amaya Bazemore recorded 11 kills to finish the season with a team-high 263 kills on a .387 hitting percentage, the best single-season hitting percentage in Loyola history.

• Bazemore's career hitting percentage of .355 in her two years with the Wolf Pack is also a program best. 

• Simone Tyson posted nine kills, three aces, and 12 digs in the match. For her collegiate career at Fairfield and Loyola, she totaled 927 kills and 1,027 digs. Tyson's career hitting percentage of .231 in three years with the Wolf Pack ranks just outside the top 10 in the program record book. 

• Samantha Ingram led the team with 24 assists on Saturday, while Ellie Connor notched her fourth double-double of the season with 18 assists and 13 digs.

• Simone Moreau recorded 13 digs for the match and a team-high 429 for the season. She's recorded at least 400 digs in each of her first three seasons at Loyola, with 1,393 total digs so far. 

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