Loyola closes out __play in the 2016 SSAC Volleyball Championships today with a matchup against Dalton State at 3:00 p.m.
Looking to bounce back after a 3-1 loss against No. 3-seeded Coastal Georgia to start the tournament, the No. 7-seeded Loyola University New Orleans volleyball team returned to the Cramton Bowl Multiplex on Friday afternoon to square off against No. 2-seeded Bethel University on day two of the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) Volleyball Championships.
The Wildcats showed why they were co-regular season champions on Friday, using an impressive .452 hitting percentage and 45 assists by Kaylee Ginnings to complete the 3-0 sweep of the Wolf Pack in Pool-B action.
An attack error by SSAC Player of the Year Eloisa Sales started off the opening set to give Loyola the 1-0 advantage. With the Wolf Pack trailing 5-6, recent SSAC All-Freshman Team member Tylar Beckham (FR/New Orleans, La.) connected on a kill off an assist by Sunni Blanchard (FR/Pierre Part, La.) to knot the opening set at 6-6. Bethel followed with a kill to bring the score to 6-7 before Anna Katherine Brunini (SO/Madison, Miss.) laid down a kill of her own to make the score 7-7. The remainder of the set proved to be anything but close, as Bethel ended the frame outscoring Loyola 18-4 to take the 25-11 victory.
With the second set locked at 3-3, kills by Beckham and Blanchard gave the Wolf Pack the early 5-3 advantage. Bethel battled back to tie the set at 5-5 before a kill from Beatriz Agosto (FR/Miami, Fla.) off a helper by Blanchard gave Loyola the lead back at 6-5. That would be the last advantage the Wolf Pack would hold for the remainder of the set, as the Wildcats retook the lead and push it to as much as 12 before claiming set two 25-14.
The third set proved similar to the second, with Loyola taking a slim lead early on. As with the second set, Bethel quickly bounced back and began putting the set out of reach as the third frame progressed. The Wildcats built the lead to as many as 11 points until the very end when a kill by Shayla Smith handed Bethel the 12-point victory (25-13) in set three and the win.
Loyola collected a 0.061 (26-20-99) hitting percentage with 23 assists and 32 digs in the loss.
Beckham and Malea Howie (FR/Greenwood, Ind.) each notched five kills against the Wildcats, with Howie adding three digs off the bench. Blanchard handed out a team-high 12 assists in the match and Maddie Huekels (SO/Dyer, Ind.) chipped in a team-best eight digs to go along with 10 assists and two kills.
Sales led all players with 15 kills, while Yumi Garcia scooped up a match-high 15 digs for Bethel.
Loyola caps off __play at the 2016 SSAC Championships later today with a matchup against Dalton State at 3:00 p.m.
