Volleyball earns second conference win Friday

Box Score

MACON, Ga. – After closing out last weekend with a win against Louisiana Christian, the Wolf Pack volleyball team traveled to Macon, Georgia for a conference matchup with Middle Georgia State on Friday. Loyola got its second Southern States Athletic Conference win on Friday (25-20, 20-25, 25-13, 25-21). The Pack's 3-1 win at Middle Georgia is also its first road victory of the season.

 

After Friday's road win, Loyola will return to The Den on Tuesday, Oct. 8, for a matchup against Xavier at 6 p.m. 

 

The first set was a competitive one by both teams with a total of eleven ties. The Wolf Pack took the lead in the early going of the first set, taking a 3-2 lead with an ace from Gabriella Masiello. After Loyola held a lead at 8-7, the Knights managed to take a lead of their own to go up three, 11-8. The Wolf Pack quickly caught up, however, tying the match at 15-15 with an Amaya Bazemore ace. Just after Clarissa Dupree found the floor, the Pack grabbed a lead at 19-18. The Pack scored six of the last seven points to secure the first set. During that stretch, Simone Moreau got an ace, while Bazemore notched two more kills and Masiello found the floor with an assist from Kala Emanuelli.

 

Loyola grabbed an early lead in set two after two kills from Juliana Pacini, 7-3. The Knights found their footing, however, tying the score at 10-10. Middle Georgia gained momentum through the set, taking a 22-15 lead as the set neared its end. A Preslie Boswell kill made it a four-point game, 24-20, but the Knights took the final point to win the second set.

 

After Middle Georgia managed an early lead in the third set, Loyola tied the score at 5-5 with another Bazemore kill. When Middle Georgia tied the match at 6-6, the Pack scored four straight points that ended with back-to-back Bazemore aces. Coming out of a Knight timeout, Loyola stretched its lead out to eight, 16-8, with help from a kill and an ace by Samantha Guillotte. With the score at 18-12, Loyola scored seven of the next eight points to close out the third set. Dupree, Guillotte, Bazemore, and Alexa Palmer each earned a kill during that stretch to take the set, 25-13.

 

The Wolf Pack offense stayed strong heading into the fourth set, going up 13-8 with kills by Natalie Burkholder, each assisted by Ellie Connor. Another two Bazemore kills and a Masiello ace stretched the lead out to 17-9. The Wolf Pack held its lead until the end to take the match, 25-21, capped off by Bazemore's 14th kill of the day.

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Wolf Pack Head Coach Jesse Zabal

"It was great to get another conference win. We got a little unfocused and complacent in set two, but they did an excellent job of turning up the energy and confidence to take care of business in the third and fourth set. Amaya had a great match, scoring close to a third of our points. And it was great to see Sam and Alexa get back into an offensive groove."

Pack Facts

• Loyola dominated the third set, serving four aces while hitting .450 with 11 kills and just two errors in 20 attempts.

• The Pack finished with a .220 hitting percentage for the match, which was the team's third-best in a match this season. 

• Ellie Connor averaged over six assists per set for the third time in the last four matches. Connor finished with 25 assists. 

• Gabriella Masiello posted 14 assists and seven digs plus two kills. 

• Amaya Bazemore's 14 kills were her third-most of the season. She also had a team-best hitting percentage of .440. 

• Clarissa Dupree was second on the team with eight kills, while Preslie Boswell was next with seven.

• Samantha Guillotte and Alexa Palmer both had efficient hitting nights, with six kills each and only one error between the two. 

• Bazemore, Masiello, and Guillotte each had three aces in the match. Overall, the Pack served 12 aces, the team's second-highest total of the season. 

• Simone Moreau, who had two of those aces, led the team with 14 digs as well. 

• Loyola has now won its last 14 matches against Middle Georgia. 

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