Loyola’s volleyball team suffered their first loss of conference play to the University of Mobile at Pharr Gym Tuesday, Oct. 28.
Despite 15 kills from Captain Gina Gill, psychology junior, 27 assists from Samantha Worsham, political science sophomore, and leads in both the first and second sets, the ‘Pack failed to close the door on Mobile. “We had a rough match against Mobile. We had problems closing each set, but we are working hard to fix things,” Gill said.
“We need to find a way to finish matches,” said Tommy Harold, coach. He added that the team is “trying to find (the) consistency” needed to compete for the SSAC championship.
As in years past, the team’s goal is to win the conference. The team’s move to the SSAC will provide a challenge to the team’s quest for a conference championship.
“The new conference brings a lot of new faces and more competition,” Gill said.
“Our goal is always to win conference,” Harold said.
He stressed that the team is going to have to “raise its level of play” from previous years in order to compete for a conference championship.
In addition to being a tough road contest, Mobile presented the ‘Pack with personal difficulties.”
Their right sides are strong; they present a different look than most teams we face,” Harold said.
However, the majority of the ‘Pack’s struggles against Mobile were self inflicted.
“Their outsides are solid, but our serving was a little off. We feel like we defeated ourselves,” Gill said.
Harold said the team has to learn to make the “crunch plays” necessary to defeat tougher competition like Mobile.
The team’s on-the-court-leader is Gill, who averages 4.2 kills per game.
“Gina (Gill) is one of our captains, a role she has embraced. She does an excellent job of showing the younger players how to prepare,” Harold said.
Despite the praise of her coach, Gill credited the team’s success to her teammates.
“Each individual on the team puts something in to each win. We all do our part individually,” Gill said.
Going forward, the team must take it one day at a time. Playing in the SSAC, the ‘Pack cannot afford to overlook any team in the conference.
“Right now, we are just looking to improve, to get better. We have to get a little better each day. We need to be better week to week,” Harold said.
If the team is able to improve daily, they will accomplish the goals they had set prior to the season: to win the conference championship and to make it to nationals.
“We are a lot better team than we were last year. We are looking to go to nationals this season,” Gill said.
The team returns to the Den to face Belhaven University in a conference matchup scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 12.
Richard Dempsey
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