BELLEVUE, Neb. – The Loyola University New Orleans volleyball team won two matches on Friday to start Bellevue University's GoSarpy.com Labor Day Classic. First, the Wolf Pack took down undefeated Missouri Valley College in four sets before a straight-sets win over Dickinson State (N.D.). 
 

Loyola is set for a slate of two matchups against Top 25-ranked teams on Saturday, taking on No. 14 Ottawa (Kan.) at 9 a.m. and No. 18 Central Methodist (Mo.) at 2 p.m.
 

Loyola 3, Missouri Valley 1 (25-13, 23-25, 25-22, 27-25)

The Wolf Pack made quick work of the Vikings in the first set. They used four Missouri Valley errors to take an early 4-1 lead, then with the score tied 4-4, Emily Sheperis recorded two service aces and Alexa Palmer had two kills during an 8-1 run to make the lead 12-5. Sheperis and Samantha Ingram kept the momentum going with a kill and an ace, respectively, and Ellie Connor had two aces during the final few points to put the set away, 25-13.  
 

The match got a lot closer starting in the second set, with Missouri Valley evening the contest with a two-point second-set win. Amaya Bazemore and Palmer got things going in the third set with a kill each, and Juliana Pacini put two on the floor to give Loyola a 10-7 lead. Missouri Valley threatened to take the lead, but kills by Bazemore, Sheperis, Palmer and Simone Tyson kept the Pack ahead. Simone Moreau's ace put Loyola up by three, 20-17, and back-to-back attacks by Pacini made the score 24-19. After three straight points from MVC, a service error won the set for Loyola. 
 

Loyola used four consecutive early points to help take the 5-2 lead in the fourth. Pacini and Tyson each recorded a kill, and Kala Emanuelli served an ace during that stretch, but the Vikings still tied the set at 7-7. Preslie Boswell registered a kill after that, and then another one from the junior helped break an 11-11 tie. That last kill by Boswell started a 7-2 run for the Pack, but Missouri Valley fought back to make it an 18-16 game. Leading 21-20, Sheperis and Bazemore kept Loyola ahead, 24-22, then Bazemore and Tyson held off the Vikings to secure the match. 
 

Loyola 3, Dickinson State 0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-16)

Madeline Corrall had an ace in the early going of Loyola's match against Dickinson State, as there were 13 ties and six lead changes by the time the score read 17-17. The Blue Hawks ended up going ahead 20-17 after that, but two attacks from Sheperis and one from Tyson tied the set for the 14th time, 20-20. Boswell gave the Pack a 21-20 lead, then Tyson and Pacini, as well as two errors by DSU, gave Loyola a 1-0 lead in the match. 
 

The Blue Hawks started well in the next game, jumping out to a 6-1 lead. Pacini led an effort to tie the game, 9-9, and Bazemore gave Loyola its first lead, 10-9, on her first kill of the set. A Tyson kill and a service ace from Conner ended a 7-0 run for the Wolf Pack that saw their lead grow to 13-9. Tyson had a couple of attacks that made the lead to 17-12, then Pacini added a couple more to secure Loyola's 2-0 lead in the match. 
 

Again, the third set started with back-and-forth play from both teams. Leading 12-10, Loyola started to pull away when Sheperis and Bazemore found the floor on an attack on consecutive points. Pacini and Bazemore notched back-to-back kills moments later, 16-11, then that same duo, along with a kill from Tyson, combined to move the Wolf Pack lead to 20-14. Tyson recorded two more kills, Sheperis added one and a block, and three attacking errors by DSU sealed the match.

Pack Facts

• Loyola is now on a seven-match win streak dating back to August 19, only dropping two sets total across those seven matches. 

• With an 8-2 record to start the year, this is Loyola's best start to a season (through 10 games) since 2012, when the team was also 8-2. 

• The Wolf Pack had 12 blocks against Missouri Valley. It's the team's fourth match this season with double-digit blocks and second-highest total of the season. Emily Sheperis led the team in that match with six blocks, a season high for the senior. 

• Sheperis is now up to seventh on Loyola's all-time blocks list with 296 for her career. 

• Juliana Pacini put together her best match of the season against Dickinson State. In her first double-double of the year, Pacini logged 14 kills and 14 digs on a .545 hitting percentage. All of those numbers were season highs. 

• Amaya Bazemore continued to shine at the net in both matches. She had 10 kills and five blocks against Missouri Valley and nine kills against Dickinson State. On the day she only committed one attacking error, leading to a hitting percentage of .545 between the two matches. 

• Simone Tyson also had a stellar attacking day, with no errors in either match. Tyson had seven kills plus 14 digs against Missouri Valley and a season-high 12 kills against Dickinson State. She's also hit above .350 in each of the last three matches. 

• Both Loyola setters went above 18 assists in both matches. Ellie Connor had 18 assists vs. MVC and a season-high 22 vs. DSU. Samantha Ingram recorded 20 assists against MVC and 19 against DSU. Both setters also had nine digs between the two matches. 

• Simone Moreau was consistent with 14 digs in each of the two matches.