Wolf Pack wrap up its three-match road trip tomorrow against Dalton State at 2:00 p.m.
The Loyola University New Orleans volleyball team continued its three-match conference road trip on Saturday by traveling to Gainesville, Georgia to square off against Brenau University.
Looking to rebound from a 3-0 loss at Faulkner last night, the Wolf Pack (12-17, 6-8 SSAC) entered the Brenau Gym also looking to snap a two-match losing steak. Loyola would suffer the same fate on Saturday as it did Friday however, but this time the sweep (29-27,25-21,25-18) would be at the hands of the Golden Tigers (8-17, 4-10 SSAC).
The Wolf Pack used a handful of Brenau errors paired with kills from Allison Hartmann (SO/Slidell, La.) and Tylar Beckham (SO/New Orleans, La.) to grab the early 6-2 advantage in the opening set. The visitors were able to maintain the lead for a majority of the set, until a 6-1 Golden Tigers run knotted the set at 22 a piece. The remainder of the set saw both teams exchanging points and a line of five ties brought the opening frame to 27 all. Brenau recorded a kill and benefitted from a Loyola error on the final two plays of the set to grab set one 29-27 in thrilling fashion.
Set two was another close contest, with both teams battling to a 7-7 tie. With the score deadlocked, the Golden Tigers manufactured a 7-2 run to race out to the 14-9 advantage at home. Brenau was able to keep the Wolf Pack at a safe distance – no closer than three points – for the remainder of the set to take the 25-21 victory to go up 2-0.
The visitors used some brilliant serving by Beatriz Agosto (FR/Miami, Fla.) to take the 6-3 lead in the third set. The Wolf Pack were only able to hold that advantage for a short while however, as the Golden Tigers quickly responded to take their first lead of the set at 10-9. With the lead in its possession, Brenau refused to hand it back over for the rest of the set en route to the 25-18 victory and sweep on Saturday.
Loyola tallied a 0.127 (40-24-126) hitting percentage in the match to go along with 40 kills, 37 assists, 54 digs and six total blocks.
Beckham led Loyola in kills (15) for the second-straight match while Maddie Huekels (SO/Dyer, Ind.) collected a double-double (18 assists/10 kills). Hartmann added 11 kills on 33 attempts and Sunni Blanchard (FR/Pierre Part, La.) chipped in 15 assists to go along with five digs in the loss.
Brenau's Jasmine Jones led all players with 14 kills and Savannah Wilbanks handed out a match-high 37 helpers on Saturday.
The Wolf Pack caps off its conference road trip tomorrow, Oct. 23, with a match against Dalton State at 2:00 p.m
