Loyola wraps up Big Easy Blastoff Saturday

NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola Wolf Pack volleyball team concluded Xavier's Big Easy Blastoff on Saturday, losing to No. 7 Columbia College in straight sets. The Pack will now turn their attention to Southern States Athletic Conference play, as that's set to begin next Friday at Blue Mountain Christian. 
 

Loyola scored the first two points of the match, then two kills by Samantha Guillotte kept it a 6-6 game in the early going of the opening set. Guillotte added her third kill to give Loyola a 10-9 lead, but Columbia College used a 5-0 run later in the set to go ahead 14-13. An attack by Emma Fahy and a couple of serving errors by the Cougars kept it a one-point game, 17-16, but Columbia College went on an 8-1 run to win the game. 
 

Again, the Wolf Pack won the first two points of the second set thanks to blocks by Katy Hollingsworth, Natalie Burkholder and Clarrisa Dupree, then two aces by Ellie Connor put Loyola in front, 7-6. The Cougars won 10 of the next 13 points to push ahead, 16-10, though, but a couple of kills by Fahy and Guillotte, as well as an ace by Juliet Petruzelli, narrowed the deficit to 17-15. Columbia College, again, finished the set strong to take a 2-0 lead in the match. 
 

Two kills by Dupree helped bring the third set to a 10-10 tie, but the Cougars used another 8-1 run to take control of the game, 18-11. A kill by Fahy sparked a quick 3-0 run, 18-14, but the Columbia College closed out the set and match. 
 

Wolf Pack Head Coach Jesse Zabal

"We're having a tough go right now. We've seemed to be a little injury prone and just not playing our best consistently enough to stay competitive with the teams we've had scheduled. It can be a challenge to stay positive, but we know we have so much good ahead of us and need to stay the course. There have been some great learning experiences for every single player on the roster so far this year and that's what we'll continue to lean on. More than ever, we have a roster that is ready to go when needed, and I know that will be a huge advantage to us as we get into conference play next weekend."

Pack Facts

• Samantha Guillotte led the team with seven kills in the match while hitting .250. 

• Emma Fahy was second on Saturday with six kills while Clarissa Dupree had five. 

• Guilotte, Dupree, and Amaya Bazemore each totaled 32 kills for the tournament. 

• Gabriella Masiello had a team-high 12 assists, and Simone Moreau led the team in digs with 12.