Loyola finishes Wolf Pack Welcome with another split Saturday

NEW ORLEANS – Similar to Friday, the Loyola Wolf Pack volleyball team started Saturday with a dominant win before dropping their second match of the day. The Pack, now 5-3 overall, swept Florida Memorial in their first game, then lost a close three-setter to Xavier to end the day and the weekend. 
 

Loyola is next set for a five-match week in Florida starting on Thursday. First, it'll take on New College of Florida in Bradenton, Florida, before heading up the road to Florida College's Labor Day Classic for two matches each on Friday and Saturday. 
 

Loyola 3, Florida Memorial 0 (25-7, 25-17, 25-18)
Loyola wasted no time in the opening set, jumping out to a 10-3 lead behind three service aces from Belén Puche Laguna and kills from Isis Harink and Alexa Palmer. The Pack hit .250 in the frame behind three attacks from Lily Clemmer-Gillum and cruised to a 25-7 win.
 

The second set was more competitive through the first few points before Loyola used a surge to pull away, 10-2. Juliet Petruzelli and Kala Emanuelli each had two aces, and Clemmer-Gillum continued to find the floor during that stretch. Ivana De Carvalho Peixe and Katy Hollingsworth got in on the attacking action, 13-8, and Clarissa Dupree had back-to-back kills to keep Loyola rolling, 18-13, en route to taking a 2-0 lead in the match. 
 

Florida didn't give up in the third, tying Loyola at 9-9 and 10-10 before the Wolf Pack pushed ahead for good. Harink and Palmer combined for eight kills down the stretch of the final game, and Puche served two more aces to cap off the sweep. 
 

Xavier 3, Loyola 0 (29-27, 25-16, 28-26)
Loyola had three attackers find the floor through the first four points (Zoe Barnes, Palmer and Dupree), but the Gold Nuggets won five straight to take an 8-4 lead in the game's first set. Harink had a block and then a kill to keep the Pack within three, 13-10, and after falling behind 17-13, Loyola tied it 20-20 thanks to a couple of aces by Emanuelli and Hollingsworth. Loyola fought off three set points to even the score at 24 and 25, then XULA did the same to keep the score tied at 26 and 27 before winning the final two points. 
 

The Wolf Pack led the second set 12-9 with Petruzelli and Harink each picking up a pair of kills, but the Gold Nuggets won 16 of the next 20 points to go ahead 2-0 in the match with a 25-16 second-set win. 
 

Xavier got off to a solid start in the third game, taking a quick 6-2 lead. The Wolf Pack, though, used an 11-5 run powered by six combined kills from Hollingsworth, Dupree, Barnes and Harink to take a 13-11 advantage. Like the first set, the game went to extra points with XULA pulling out another win to claim the match. 
 

Pack Facts

• After serving 10 aces on Friday, Belén Puche Laguna had five more against Florida Memorial and another against Xavier to give her a team-high 25 aces this season. She also had a double-double, her third of the season, against Xavier, with 18 assists and 11 digs. 

• Alexa Palmer reached double digits in kills for the third time this season with 10 against Xavier. She also hit .545 against Florida Memorial, going 6-for-11 on attempts with no errors. 

• Kala Emanuelli led all players with 19 digs in the Xavier match. She also had 12 digs against Florida Memorial and has reached double digits in that category in every match this season. 

• Isis Harink put up eight kills in just 13 attempts against Florida Memorial, recording no errors. She added six kills and two solo blocks against Xavier. 

• Lily Clemmer-Gillum matched her highest kill total in a Loyola uniform with six against Florida Memorial.