Loyola splits Saturday volleyball matches in Hattiesburg

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Loyola Wolf Pack volleyball team played a tri-match at William Carey University on Saturday, dropping a close match against the Crusaders before bouncing back with a 3-0 sweep of the Louisiana Christian Wildcats.  

 

The Wolf Pack (15-6, 4-2 SSAC) will be back on the road for a two-game slate next weekend, starting with a Friday matchup at Tennessee Southern, at 6 p.m. The Wolf Pack will end the road trip at Blue Mountain Christian on Saturday, at 1 p.m.

 

(RV) William Carey 3, Loyola 0 (25-15, 25-23, 27-25)

The Crusaders got off to a strong start in the first set, scoring the first four points of the match. William Carey continued to play well in the set, extending its lead over the Wolf Pack. Loyola managed to chip away at WCU's advantage, helped by two aces from Juliet Petruzelli and a pair of kills from Alexa Palmer. However, Carey's first-set lead proved to be too much for the Wolf Pack.

 

WCU began the second set with another lead, but the Wolf Pack kept it close this time, tying the match at 9-all after a kill by Isis Harink and back-to-back errors. Lola Blancher found the floor and two more errors by the Crusaders gave the Wolf Pack its first lead, 13-12. Katy Hollingsworth collected a kill to keep Loyola in front, shortly before kills from Samantha Guillotte and Palmer, along with another ace by Petruzelli, kept the Pack ahead by one, 17-16. With the set tied at 23-23, William Carey scored the final two points to take the set.

 

The Wolf Pack began the third set with an advantage, helped by kills from Palmer and Clarissa Dupree, 3-0. Loyola competed well with WCU in the third set, totaling 13 ties in the match's final set alone. Kills from Harink and Palmer put the Pack up three, its largest lead of the set, 19-16. After a tie, 19-19, consecutive kills from Harink kept Loyola in front by two, 21-19. After Carey went back up, 22-21, Kala Emanuelli and Ivana De Carvalho Peixe found the floor, 23-22. Carey managed to find a lead and close out the conference match from there.

 

Loyola 3, Louisiana Christian 0 (25-15, 25-10, 25-16)

The Wolf Pack got going early in Saturday's second match, facing Louisiana Christian. After LCU found the floor in the first play of the set, Loyola went on an 8-0 run. Harink, Dupree, and Peixe each gathered kills during that stretch. Peixe collected the next three points for the Pack, followed by an Ellie Connor ace, 14-6. After LCU got within four, the Wolf Pack dominated the rest of the first set, winning by double digits, closing with back-to-back aces by Harink, along with a kill from Hollingsworth.

 

A fast start in the second set by the Wolf Pack included kills from Dupree, Harink, and Zoe Barnes, as well as aces from Blancher and Connor, 10-3. After the Wildcats got within three, the Wolf Pack extended its lead with a 7-3 run, 17-10. Loyola closed out the set, scoring eight straight, including three aces from Blancher and three blocks from Harink and Lily Clemmer-Gillum.

 

The third and final set began with Dupree, Harink, Barnes, and Belén Puche Laguna each finding the floor before Blancher collected another pair of aces, 10-2. The Wolf Pack cruised to victory from there, putting a seal on a dominant performance in the second match of the day. 

 

Pack Facts

• Loyola's 15 service aces were the team's second-most in any match this season. Lola Blancher had a match-high seven aces, which is tied for the most by any Wolf Pack player this season. 

• Blancher is the fourth Wolf Pack player to reach 30 aces this season, joining Belén Puche Laguna (55), Kala Emanuelli (36), and Juliet Petruzelli (36).

• Isis Harink, who served well with three aces, put down nine kills with just one error (.444) against Louisiana Christian. Harink led all Wolf Pack players with 18 kills between the two matches. She also had nine blocks on Saturday, including six against LCU. 

• Alexa Palmer reached double figures with 10 kills vs. William Carey while hitting .333, adding four more kills on just six attempts vs. LCU.  

• In one of her best hitting performances of the season, Clarissa Dupree racked up 10 kills with just two errors (.444). It was her third match with double-digit kills this season. 

• Puche notched her fifth double-double of the season in the Crusaders match with 13 assists and 11 digs, following that up with an impressive 22 assists in three sets against the Wildcats. 

• Ellie Connor led the team with 14 assists in the first match and had 11 in the second. She also served a pair of aces against LCU. 

• Emanuelli recorded a team-high 16 digs in each match, bringing her to 362 digs this season. That number continues to rank in the top 10 in total digs in the NAIA. 

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