Volleyball stretches win streak to four Saturday

MOUNT VERNON, Ga. – The Wolf Pack traveled to Georgia for the second straight weekend to face off against Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) foe Brewton-Parker College on Saturday. Loyola defeated the Lady Barons in straight sets (25-20, 25-18, 25-10) to earn its third conference victory and fourth-straight win overall. 

The Wolf Pack will be back in action in The Den this weekend for conference matches against Point University at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 18, and Life University at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19.

Brewton-Parker broke away from Loyola in the early going of the first set, taking an 8-5 lead. After the Lady Barons took a six-point lead, a Loyola timeout led to the Pack scoring eight of the next eleven points in the match for a 15-15 tie. During that run, Amaya Bazemore earned three kills with Preslie Boswell and Clarissa Dupree each notching a kill. Juliet Petruzelli also got in on that stretch with an ace. 

Soon after, the Lady Barons scored four consecutive points to go up, 19-15. Loyola quickly found its footing for another scoring run, starting with a Bazemore ace, then consecutive kills from Alexa Palmer, Samantha Guillotte, and Katy Hollingsworth. Ellie Connor capped off Loyola's run with an ace to secure Loyola's first set victory, 25-20.

The Maroon and Gold began set two with a 4-0 lead that included Boswell and Dupree finding the floor and an ace from Simone Moreau. Brewton-Parker put the score within one, 11-10, but Loyola scored five straight points with another Bazemore kill and an ace from Belén Puche Laguna. After the Lady Barons got within two, 20-18, another 5-0 scoring run, starting with a Juliana Pacini kill and ace, along with two kills from Preslie Boswell took Loyola into the third set with a 2-0 lead.

Once again, the Wolf Pack took a lead to start the set, 7-5. An 11-1 run from Loyola, put the Pack ahead 18-6. Petruzelli, Pacini, Hollingsworth, and Emma Fahy each logged kills during that stretch, and Lily Clemmer-Gillum added three blocks. The Pack pulled away from there, securing the match with a 25-10 score.

Wolf Pack Head Coach Jesse Zabal

"Really proud to see the team come out with another win. It's a challenge to travel this far two weekends in a row and not feel some level of fatigue, but they've handled it well. All season we've had somewhat of a slow start to each match, but more and more we're seeing our group's ability to manage that in the stretch and take back control. We ramped up our serving in the second and third sets which really helped us be more aggressive offensively. Katy, Lily, and Emma all came in with big blocks during the match. We're also very proud of Amaya reaching 500 all-time career blocks. She's been such a steady force for us, and we're excited to see her reach these amazing milestones. "

Pack Facts

• With Saturday's road win, head coach Jesse Zabal now has the second-most wins of any coach in Loyola volleyball history with 149. 

• A good number of those wins have come against Brewton-Parker, as the Pack improved its all-time record against the Lady Barons to 26-0 on Saturday. 

• Ellie Connor averaged over six assists per set for the week, as she recorded 22 assists in Saturday's three sets. It was her ninth match this year with over 20 assists, and her third three-set match reaching that total.

• Belén Puche Laguna also finished with double-digit assists with 10 for the match, plus four digs and an ace. 

• Preslie Boswell led the way in attack with nine kills on a .400 hitting percentage. 

• Amaya Bazemore put away eight kills in just 16 attempts with only one error, posting a .438 hitting percentage while adding two aces and two blocks. 

• Bazemore, who recently hit the 300-block mark after three seasons at Loyola, reached another career milestone Saturday. After adding her 184 blocks at Pensacola State College, she's over 500 total blocks for her collegiate career. 

• Juliana Pacini also only had one attacking error, finishing with six kills while hitting .417, plus two aces and four digs. 

• Simone Moreau followed up her 17 digs Tuesday with a match-high 11 on Saturday. Moreau's posted double-digit digs in each of her last 13 matches.