Volleyball suffers first SSAC loss at Mobile

MOBILE, Ala. – The Loyola Wolf Pack volleyball team started their first SSAC road trip with a loss at Mobile on Friday. Loyola will now take on Faulkner at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Montgomery, Alabama, for another Southern States Athletic Conference contest. 
 

Loyola fell behind 7-3 in the first set, but kills from Samantha Guillotte and Isis Harink helped cut the deficit to 10-9. Loyola continued to trail by a couple of points, 16-14, until the Rams pulled away to win the first set 25-17. 
 

The second set was a thriller. Loyola jumped ahead 4-1 on an ace by Juliet Petruzelli, a couple of kills from Harink, and a block from Ivana De Carvalho Pexie and Harink. The teams traded points the rest of the way, as the second set featured 14 ties and seven lead changes. Four attacks by Pexie helped bring the game to a 15-15, but the Pack couldn't take a multi-point lead. A Clarissa Dupree kill tied it again, 24-24, but Mobile fought off a Pack set point to win the game, 27-25. 
 

A combination of Harink, Pexie and Guillotte kept Loyola close at the beginning of the third set, 7-5. The NAIA leader in service aces, Belén Puche Laguna, picked up another one a couple of points later, then back-to-back blocks by Pexie and Harink tied the set, 11-11. After another tie at 12-12, the Rams pulled away for good after that. Kills by Katy Hollingsworth, Alexa Palmer, Dupree, Guillotte and Harink allowed Loyola to stay within two, 22-20. Trailing 24-20, Loyola won three straight points, 24-23, before the Rams finished things off with the match-clincher. 
 

Pack Facts

• Ivana De Carvalho Peixe led the squad with nine kills with just two errors for a hitting percentage of .412, her second best of the season. 

• Isis Harink totaled eight kills with only one error (.350). 

• Samantha Guillotte put up eight kills as well, and she's reached at least seven kills in every match this season. 

• Belén Puche Laguna added to her NAIA-leading service ace total with two aces Friday, bringing her to 45 so far this season. She also had a team-high 19 assists. 

• Lola Blancher also served two aces, while Juliet Petruzelli had one.