Riding on potent offensive flair and airtight defensive play, Loyola volleyball swept the Belhaven Blazers resoundingly to bag its first conference win of the season.
Loyola (8-2. 1-1 GCAC) won in strait sets, 30-26, 30-21, 30-16 last Thursday.
General business junior Mary Seals spearheaded Loyola’s offensive efforts, recording a match high 18 kills.
Sidekick Sarah Howard, communications sophomore, led the team in assists with 29, and marketing senior Kelly Fridge amassed three aces.
“Seals’ and Fridge’s play was very solid. Mary’s an explosive player, and she hits a very hard ball. And Fridge keeps us in the game. Nothing starts without getting a touch, and that starts with our Libero,” said coach Tommy Harold.
Defensively, four ‘Pack players recorded blocks: psychology senior Colleen McNerney, biology junior Sara Terrebonne, political science senior Allison Cooley and political science junior Tiffany Stafford.
“It was definitely a team effort,” Harold said. “We work hard to get everyone involved, subbing people in and out to stay fresh and be in the best position possible. We are undersized, and we have to be very able defensively to compete with bigger teams.”
The team withstood a solid offensive effort from Belhaven’s Kathryn Hart: she scored 10 kills and two aces against them.
Belhaven’s Kelsey Stack matched Howard’s assist output with 29 of her own.
Loyola’s offense overcame defiant defensive performances from Belhaven’s Amanda Evans (13 blocks) and Roz Sabella (six digs).
The Blazers dropped to 5-4 overall, 0-1 GCAC.
Loyola retakes the court this Friday against St. Thomas (Texas) in The Den. First serve’s at 7 p.m.
Sarah Howard tops in region for the second week in a row
The NAIA recognized Howard as Region XIII’s top setter for the second consecutive week.
The 5-foot-9 Houston native posted impressive offensive statistics in a week that saw the ‘Pack turn in a 1-1 record.
Howard amassed 17 kills, 49 total attacks, 60 assists, 10 digs and seven assists.
Ramon Vargas can be reached at [email protected].
