SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Loyola Wolf Pack volleyball team closed out the Alamo City Volleyesta tournament on Saturday, making history in the process. In the second match of the doubleheader, the Pack took down the reigning NAIA champions, No. 1-ranked Jamestown in four sets. It's Loyola volleyball's first-ever victory against a top-ranked NAIA team. 
 

Loyola opened the season 2-2, capturing wins against Jamestown and host Our Lady of the Lake, with the only losses against ranked teams No. 17 Bellevue and No. 23 Texas Wesleyan. 
 

Next up for the Pack is the Wolf Pack Welcome tournament, a slate of four matches that begins on Friday, August 25. Over the course of next weekend, Loyola will face Ave Maria (Fla.), Evangel (Mo.), Bluefield (Va.) and Michigan-Dearborn. 
 

#23 Texas Wesleyan 3, Loyola 0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-13)

Loyola had the first point of the match on a block by Amaya Bazemore and held an early lead at 6-5. Later, after an Emily Sheperis kill made it 14-10 in favor of Texas Wesleyan, the Rams put together nine straight points to run away with the first set. The second frame played out similarly, with the Rams leading 9-6, then using another 9-0 run to take control of the set. 
 

In the third, TWU built a 15-4 advantage that Loyola could not overcome. Simone Tyson put down three kills in the third frame and Bazemore had two more but it was not enough, as the Rams took the match 3-0. 
 

Loyola 3, #1 Jamestown 1 (25-12, 25-22, 17-25, 25-19)

Ellie Connor set up Juliana Pacini for a kill to start things off in the second match of the day, and the Wolf Pack never fell behind in the first set. Jamestown kept things close until the Pack led 11-9, then Loyola went on a 14-3 scoring run to wrap up the set. The Wolf Pack defense stepped up with six team blocks, Alexa Palmer with four and Amaya Bazemore with three, holding the Jimmies to a -.051 hitting percentage. Conversely, Loyola was efficient in attack in the opener, with no attacking errors on 10 kills, four by Simone Tyson, and a .370 hitting percentage. 
 

Neither team was able to wrestle control for the majority of the second set until Loyola rattled off five points in a row in the middle of the frame. Trailing 14-12, Tyson got a kill and later served two aces in a row to put the Pack up 17-14. Loyola was able to maintain the lead after that run, with a Preslie Boswell kill clinching it at 25-22.
 

Jamestown secured the lead early in Set 3 and held it to take their first set of the match, but Pack got its groove back in Set 4. After dropping the first six points of the period, Loyola battled back, taking its first lead of the set at 15-14 after a block and kill from Emily Sheperis. The Pack never trailed after that moment, winning the set 25-19 after totaling 13 kills and again hitting .370 in the frame. 
 

Wolf Pack Head Coach Jesse Zabal

"Today definitely had its highs and lows, but what a high to finish on with a win against Jamestown. We unfortunately were not well prepared for Texas Wesleyan and it showed in how we played. We were out of rhythm and disconnected. I am thoroughly impressed with how our group responded, however. We could've allowed our first match of the day to dictate the way we finished this tournament, but once again, our group refused to back down. Our performance against Jamestown was strong, especially with blocks. The Jimmies are a high contact and hard hitting team, and we were able to shut them down to the point of them slowing down their attacks. We adjusted well and kept control of the match even after the 3rd set loss. This is just the first of many tough challenges ahead for this program so we will need to remain steady and continue to improve. But we are more than happy to celebrate this big win for our program."
 

Pack Facts

• Loyola's win against Jamestown is the program's first win over a team ranked No. 1 in the NAIA.  

• Simone Tyson led the team in kills in each match, five against Texas Wesleyan and nine against Jamestown. 

• Juliana Pacini was second in kills with seven, while Amaya Bazemore, Preslie Boswell, Emily Sheperis, and Alexa Palmer each had six kills. 

• Bazemore and Palmer also had seven blocks apiece. 

• Simone Moreau totaled at least 15 digs in each match, 15 against TWU and 18 against Jamestown. She's now over 1,000 digs for her career with 1,003 total. 

• The second match of the day was Loyola's best serving performance of the season, with the team combining for seven aces. 

• Ellie Connor led the team with 19 assists in the Jamestown match. 

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.