Part of coach Tommy Harold’s philosophy is to make few mistakes, so that the opposition has to earn its points.
His women’s volleyball team has adhered to that way of thinking and reeled off five wins in its last seven matches, including a second-place finish in the Spring Hill tournament this past weekend.
The Wolfpack also earned the No. 1 ranking in the first NAIA Region XIII poll.
“We’ve been working a lot on serving,” elementary education senior Amanda Gilliard said.
“Our ball control has gotten better. We’re trying to give it to them hard, so they can’t return it.”
The ‘Pack improved its record to 6-5 with a 30-21, 26-30, 30-20, 30-23 win Tuesday against Millsaps in Jackson, Miss.
Harold said the key to victory was not repeating the mistakes that cost the team the second set.
“We just eliminated the errors,” he said. “We played an error-prone second game. Then we stopped giving away points and made them earn the ones they were getting.”
Gilliard paced Loyola with 12 kills, 19 digs, and six aces in the victory. Laurie Cacioppo, management junior, added 23 digs.
Over the weekend, the Wolfpack took second place in the Spring Hill tournament, losing to champion Flagler College of St. Augustine, Fla., (11-0) twice.
In the championship match, Loyola lost to Flagler 30-22, 30-22, and 30-26. Suzi Ruiz, history senior, led the team with 26 assists and three aces. Ashley Cobette, general business junior, added nine kills with Lauren Landry, international business junior, and Gilliard contributing eight kills apiece.
Despite the straight-set loss in the championship, Harold said he was satisfied with the team’s overall performance in the tournament.
“I think the girls had a nice weekend,” he said. “I’m impressed that they were able to go out and play three matches Sunday without much of a break. They played well and beat all the teams in our region. We came up short twice against Flagler. They are a bigger team with a little more experience. But we still gave them a run.”
Landry and Gilliard were named to the All-Tournament team.
The ‘Pack also lost to Flagler in pool play but won all four of its other matches in the tournament.
In the semifinals, Loyola defeated host Spring Hill College of Mobile, Ala., in straight sets, 30-22, 30-26, 30-28. Cobette and Gilliard each had nine kills in the win.
“We’re really progressing as a team,” Gilliard said. “We’re getting a lot closer, and people are filling their roles.”
Besides Spring Hill, the ‘Pack beat fellow Region XIII members Faulkner University of Montgomery, Ala., and Xavier in four sets.
The volleyball team plays Mississippi College in its home opener tonight at 7 p.m. in the Den.
Harold and Gilliard are both eager for the team to play in front of a home crowd.
“It should be a nice showcase of what the girls have been working on,” Harold said. “It will be good for our fans to get to see them play and appreciate the hard work that the girls put in.”
Said Gilliard: “We’re expecting a lot of people and to have a big, strong win. If we play the way we have been playing, they don’t stand a chance.”
