McPHERSON, Kan. – The Loyola Wolf Pack volleyball team finished its third tournament weekend of the 2026 season on Saturday, winning two matches at the McPherson College Invite against two Missouri programs, Central Methodist and Stephens College. Loyola dropped the first set in each match but came back to win in both to improve to a 7-5 overall record this season. 

The Wolf Pack will now return to New Orleans for two road matches against crosstown rivals. First, the Pack will once again face the Dillard Bleu Devils on Wednesday, Sept. 9, at 6 p.m., before the season's first Southern States Athletic Conference matchup against Xavier next Saturday at 1 p.m. 

Game 1: Loyola 3, Central Methodist 2 (18-25, 25-21, 25-22, 18-25, 15-9)

Loyola got off to a fast start with kills from Mel Beachnau and Caroline McKinney and a block from Isis Harink, as the Pack went ahead 4-1 early in the set. After a timeout, the Eagles quickly recovered, scoring eight straight points to make it 9-4. Their lead grew to as many as nine points at 20-11. A late Loyola push was not enough, as the Eagles took the first set 25-18. 

Central Methodist got the first two points of Set 2, with Loyola getting on the board with Tyler Alcorn's first kill of the season. Loyola took its first lead of the set at 6-4 with three straight kills by Clarissa Dupree, Caroline Beahm, and Alexa Palmer. While Loyola held its lead for the rest of the set, Central Methodist stayed close, pulling within one point as late as 17-16 in the second set. But Loyola used a 6-2 scoring run, which included kills by Dupree, Alcorn, and Caroline McKinney, to push ahead 24-18. The Eagles scored a few more points, but a kill by McKinney, her fourth of the set, closed it out. 

In Set 3, the Eagles built an early 7-3 advantage before the Wolf Pack used a 6-1 run to take its first lead of the set at 9-8 on a block from Alcorn. Central Methodist eventually pulled back ahead, leading 20-18 late in the set, but Loyola put together another rally, scoring six straight points to go up 24-20. McKinney again ended the set on a kill. 

The teams played close for much of Set 4, with the game being tied as late as 12-12. After that tie, however, the Eagles outscored the Pack 13-6 to send the match into a deciding fifth set. 

Loyola used another fast start to go up 4-1 early in the fifth. Afterward, the team led by at least two points for the rest of the set. Back-to-back kills from Palmer and Alcorn prompted a Central Methodist timeout at 7-3, with an ace from Belén Puche Laguna coming on the other side of the timeout. Loyola built its largest lead of the match at 12-5 after an ace from Caroline Beahm and a kill from McKinney. That lead ended up carrying the Wolf Pack to the finish line, with Harink and Olivia Smith combining on a block for the final point. 

Game 2: Loyola 3, Stephens 1 (21-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-7)

The Wolf Pack led 2-0 after the first two points, and Isis Harink had two kills to make it 3-1. Stephens, however, bounced back to take the lead at 5-4 and never let go. 

Loyola again grabbed an early 2-0 lead in Set 2 after back-to-back kills from Caroline McKinney. Stephens tied it at 2-2, then a 7-1 Wolf Pack scoring run, featuring two kills and two blocks by Harink, put the Pack up 9-3. The Stars gradually came back to retake the lead, holding a two-point advantage at 17-15, but from then on, it was all Loyola. The Pack outscored the Stars 10-1 over the remainder of the set, with Harink continuing to dominate with two kills and three blocks in that stretch. McKinney, Alexa Palmer, and Ellie Connor also each had a kill in that span, with Connor having either an assist or a kill on each of the last four points. 

Any momentum from the second set did not carry over to the third for the Wolf Pack, as Stephens led for most of the third period, but again, Loyola rallied late. With the Stars ahead 20-19, the Wolf Pack went on a 6-1 scoring run to close out the third frame. Palmer, Harink, and McKinney each had four kills in the third set. 

While the first three sets were closely contested, the Pack ran away with the fourth, never trailing during the period. The score was relatively close to start at 6-4, but Loyola outscored Stephens 19-3 over the remainder of the action, with the Wolf Pack attack producing 17 kills and no errors. 

Pack Facts

• Lola Blancher's 33 digs in the win against Stephens were the most in a single match for any Wolf Pack player since Helene Masone had 37 against William Carey on Feb. 26, 2021. 

• Overall, the Wolf Pack combined for 89 digs in the Stephens match, its highest total of the year. Including Blancher's 33, five different players had at least 10 digs for the Pack: Ellie Connor (12), Belén Puche Laguna (12), Caroline McKinney (11), and Olivia Smith (10). 

• This was the first time Loyola has had five players record 10 or more digs in a match since Sept. 2, 2023, in a five-setter against Central Methodist. 

• Isis Harink led the Wolf Pack in kills in the tournament, racking up 15 in the win against Stephens and 12 against Central Methodist after 20 between Friday's matches. She also hit above .400 in each match on Saturday and led the team in blocks with nine blocks between the two wins.

• Alexa Palmer had double-digit kills in both matches Saturday, totaling 10 against Central Methodist and 12 against Stephens. 

• McKinney totaled 10 kills against Stephens and nine against Central Methodist. Her performance against Stephens (10 kills, 11 digs) was also her second double-double of the season. 

• Connor collected at least 25 assists in three of the four matches in the tournament, with 25 against Central Methodist and 28 against Stephens on Saturday. She also had 12 digs against Stephens for her third double-double of the season and 11th of her career. 

• Puche also notched her third double-double of the season, and 10th of her career, with 21 assists and 12 digs against Stephens. She also had 24 assists against Central Methodist. 

• Puche also entered the top 10 in the Wolf Pack volleyball record book for career assists. Now with 1,141 career assists, she passes Kailyn O'Neal, who totaled 1,132 assists in her two seasons with the Pack. 

• After making her season debut on Friday, Tyler Alcorn played four of the five sets against Central Methodist, totaling nine kills and three blocks. 

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