NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola Wolf Pack volleyball team remains atop the SSAC standings after defeating Tennessee Southern in four sets on Saturday. Loyola is now 11-7 overall and 4-1 in Southern States Athletic Conference play with 12 points in the standings. 
 

A 3-2-1 point system will be used to determine the final conference standings and the tournament seeding. If a team wins in three or four sets, they get 3 points. If a match goes five sets, the winner gets two points, and the loser gets one point. 
 

The Wolf Pack is back on the road for their next set of SSAC matches, traveling to Georgia to take on Wesleyan and Brewton-Parker Christian on Friday and Saturday, respectively. 
 

Loyola lost the first set despite serving with a set-point, but it rebounded in the second set to tie the match. UT Southern started by winning three of the first four points, but a couple of kills from Mel Beachnau helped tie the game, 6-6. The Firehawks pulled ahead again, then Tyler Alcorn and Olivia Smith had kills and Alcorn and Caroline McKinney combined for a block to even the score at 10-all. The set was tied at 11, 12 and 14 before Loyola took the lead for good. Parker Sehlinger had an ace during a 4-0 run, as Loyola finished on an 11-4 run after the 14-14 tie. Alcorn contributed three kills down the stretch, and Lola Blancher had another ace. 
 

McKinney and Isis Harink helped get Loyola off to a good start in the third set, but the Firehawks eventually took the lead, 6-5. Alcorn and Palmer combined for a couple of blocks during a quick 4-0 run to 9-6, and Smith served back-to-back aces to keep the momentum with the Wolf Pack at 15-8. UT Southern, though, won seven straight points to tie the set, and the Pack answered with a 6-1 run to pull away for good. Harink had three kills during that stretch, as Loyola easily closed out the game to take a 2-1 lead in the match. 
 

Smith served another ace and recorded a kill to get the Pack going in the fourth set, 6-2. UT Southern, however, battled back to tie the game at 8, 9, 10, and 11 before taking a 13-11 lead. A kill by Alcorn and an error by UT Southern tied it again, and Smith found the floor on another serve for the fourth time in the match to give the Wolf Pack another lead, 14-13. That started a 13-2 run for Loyola that pushed the lead to a match point, 24-15. Harink and Dupree combined for a couple of blocks during that scoring spree, then Dupree finished things off with another kill. 
 

Pack Facts

• The Wolf Pack haven't played many matches in The Den this season, but they've won them all. They're a perfect 6-0 at home this season. 

• Loyola lost the first set on Saturday, then won the next three to win the match. That marked the fourth time this season the Wolf Pack has battled back to win after dropping the opening game. 

• Ellie Connor totaled 22 assists on Saturday, bringing her career total to 2,093. She now ranks seventh all-time in program history. 

• Connor also racked up 13 digs to register her 13th career double-double. She now has five double-doubles this season, which is the most double-doubles in a season for the senior.

• Connor's 13 digs is a new season-high and ties her career-high mark set in September 2024. 

• Lola Blancher recorded her first career double-double with 19 digs and 10 assists. That 10-assist total is a new career-high. 

• Mel Beachnau notched a new career-high with seven digs on Saturday, and Olivia Smith tallied a new season-high with four service aces. 

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