NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola University New Orleans volleyball team returned to The Den for the first time in a month on Friday, defeating Blue Mountain Christian in straight sets for its third straight SSAC victory. The Wolf Pack continues their weekend in The Den with a 1 p.m. match against Tennessee Southern on Saturday. 
 

Alexa Palmer got going early in the first set with a couple of kills, then back-to-back attacks from Caroline McKinney gave Loyola an early 5-3 lead. Palmer found the floor two more times, and Isis Harink and Olivia Smith each had service aces as Loyola expanded its lead to 15-9. Palmer's fifth kill of the set came in the middle of a 6-0 run that pushed the Pack's lead to 18-9. Loyola cruised to a 1-0 lead in the match from there. 
 

Loyola started hot in the second with four straight points thanks to a couple of kills by Palmer and another from Tyler Alcorn. The set stayed close in the middle, but the Wolf Pack won four of five points as Palmer added another kill to create separation, 17-13. Lola Blancher had an ace, and Palmer had another kill to fight off a BMCU run, 19-16. BMCU cut it to two a couple of points later, 21-19, but two errors by the Toppers and consecutive attacks by McKinney and Palmer gave Loyola the edge. 
 

Blue Mountain had a good start to the third set, taking a 5-3 lead early, but three more kills from Palmer put the Pack ahead, 7-6. Harink had one of her team-high three aces moments later, 12-8, and Alcorn and McKinney kept the momentum on Loyola's side, 17-12. A combination of Clarissa Dupree, McKinney and Harink matched BMCU point for point, then fittingly, Palmer finished off the match with her 16th kill. 

Pack Facts

• While the Wolf Pack was picked atop the SSAC Preseason Poll, they've now defeated the teams picked second through fourth during this three-match winning streak. 

• Alexa Palmer had a season-high 16 kills on a season-high .519 hit percentage. 

• Even though Palmer's career-high is 18 kills, her 5.4 kill-per-set average Friday night is a personal best for the senior. 

• Libero Lola Blancher led the Wolf Pack in digs for the 16th time this season, recording 14 on Friday. Four others had at least six digs, too, as Olivia Smith had 13, Ellie Connor totaled nine, Belén Puche Laguna added eight, and Clarissa Dupree chipped in six. 

• Loyola held Blue Mountain Christian to a .060 team hitting percentage, marking the fourth time this season an opponent has hit less than .100. 

Subscribe to Pack Tracks, a Loyola Athletics Newsletter, for all of the latest information >> https://loyolawolfpack.com/subscribe.aspx. You can also keep up with the Pack by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com.