NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola University New Orleans volleyball team is hosting the Wolf Pack Welcome Tournament this weekend, welcoming Ave Maria (Fla.), Bluefield (Va.), Evangel (Mo.) and Michigan-Dearborn to The Den for a round-robin-style schedule on Friday and Saturday. On Day 1, the Pack took down their first two foes, Evangel and Ave Maria in straight sets to improve their early season record to 4-2. 
 

The Wolf Pack is back in action on Saturday with two more matches in The Den. They'll wrap up the tournament with a matchup against Bluefield (Va.) at 1 p.m. and Michigan-Dearborn at 5 p.m. 
 

Loyola 3, Evangel (Mo.) 0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-17)

The opening set was a close one through the first 20 points, as Loyola pulled ahead for good, 11-10. Amaya Bazemore, Alexa Palmer and Emily Sheperis all recorded kills during the early going, then Simone Tyson helped spark a quick 6-0 run to jump ahead 16-10 on the Valor. Palmer and Tyson each notched their second kill of the set and Samantha Ingram had a service ace to bring the lead to 19-13. The Pack finished off the set easily from there to take a 1-0 match lead. 
 

Loyola played even better in the second set, winning that game to take a 2-0 lead in the match. The Pack got off to a 5-2 lead thanks to two attacks from Palmer, then after a few Evangel errors and another Ingram ace, Loyola led 10-3. The Valor made a run, but Juliana Pacini found the floor a couple of times on attacks to hold the visitors at bay, 14-10. That point sparked a 12-4 run for Loyola, closing out the set with ease with two blocks each from Pacini, Bazemore and Tyson. 
 

The Wolf Pack closed things out with another strong set. Kills by Palmer, Bazemore and Emily Sheperis got things going, 7-3, and a couple of attacks from Pacini held off a Valor rally to keep Loyola ahead 12-11. The latter kill from the São Paulo, Brazil, native started a 9-0 run for the hosts, as Loyola never looked back from there. Alicia Simmons got in on the action, too, and Pacini finished things off. 
 

Loyola 3, Ave Maria 0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-13)

The opening game started with back-and-forth play through the first 26 points, as the score got to a 13-13 tie. Six different Wolf Pack players found the floor, and Palmer led the group with three of her own. There were eight ties during that stretch, too, as well as three lead changes before the Pack took the 14-13 advantage. Loyola, however, closed out the set on a 13-5 run with Preslie Boswell leading the way with five kills - three during that closing run. 
 

Boswell got things going in the second set, too, and a couple of Ave Maria errors quickly gave Loyola a 3-0 lead. Pacini collected two kills in a short span, 6-2, followed by back-to-back attacks from Boswell and Pacini to keep the Pack ahead, 9-6. Boswell and Bazemore combined for five kills to help bring the lead to 23-16, then Tyson put the final touches on the set to take the 2-0 lead in the match.
 

Sheperis got the Pack off to a good start in the third set, quickly taking a 6-1 lead. Ellie Connor served an ace to keep the momentum on Loyola's side, which was followed up by consecutive aces by Pacini, 11-3. Tyson added back-to-back attacks, then added a third kill moments later, 16-4. From there, Loyola cruised to its second straight three-sets win. 

Wolf Pack Head Coach Jesse Zabal

"We are really proud of our team's performance today. It's been fun watching them continue to settle into the rhythm of each other, both on and off the court. The first home match can be a little nerve-racking, but our group did a phenomenal job of keeping focus on the task at hand. Some of our pin hitters struggled with their efficiency against Evangel, but the backup that we got from our middles and Alexa were enough to keep us moving forward. Our defense was also incredibly strong and kept us alive in tougher rallies. 10 team blocks is impressive.

"I really think we cleaned things up with our set tempo and location against Ave Maria, which allowed all of our hitters to show out. Amaya, Preslie, and Juliana were some standouts as they scored double digit points for the team. Overall, we're just impressed with how we continue to learn, grow, and evolve. We're excited to get back to competing tomorrow afternoon and evening."
 

Pack Facts

• Loyola held Evangel to a negative hitting percentage, -.043 in the first match of the day. The Pack also held Ave Maria to .023. It was the two lowest-hitting performances of any opponents this season. 

• The Wolf Pack's hitting percentage of .340 matches their best of the season. 

• Amaya Bazemore led the Wolf Pack with eight kills and six blocks against Evangel. 

• Bazemore, Preslie Boswell, and Juliana Pacini each had nine kills against Ave Maria. All three also hit above .350 for the match, with Bazemore at .615, Pacini at .529, and Boswell at .353. 

• Loyola's blocks leader this season with 24, Bazemore totaled 10 blocks on the day, six against Evangel and four against Ave Maria. She's also Loyola's leader in hitting percentage this season at .363. 

• Samantha Ingram went for a season-high 23 assists against Ave Maria. 

• The Wolf Pack totaled 44 kills against Ave Maria, the team's highest total of the season. 

• Simone Moreau had 24 digs on the day, including 15 in the three sets against Evangel. Moreau and Pacini tied for a team-high with nine digs against Ave Maria. 

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