The Loyola women’s volleyball team will attempt to win its fifth-straight Gulf Coast Athletic Conference championship this weekend at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala.

The tournament, which starts today, has the five GCAC teams playing for the conference title.

Spring Hill, which won the conference regular season title with a 7-1 mark, is the top seed, followed by Loyola, Dillard, Xavier, and Belhaven, respectively.

Scheduled for the first round today, Loyola is to meet Belhaven at 2 p.m. If the Wolfpack, which has beaten Belhaven twice this season, wins the first round, it will advance to the semifinal on Saturday. The championship is set for Saturday at 2 p.m.

Coach Tommy Harold said that since the top three seeds are evenly matched, momentum is the key to winning the tournament.

“It’s grabbing it (the momentum) and holding on to it,” he said. “If it goes the other way, you have to get it back. All three teams are capable of beating each other on any given day. I don’t think there’s any separation.”

The team played in the Indiana Wesleyan tournament Nov. 7 to 8 as its final preparation for the GCAC championship.

The team had only one win in four tournament matches, but Harold said that playing tough competition in Indiana can only help Loyola this weekend.

“You don’t get any better by playing weak teams,” he said. “You get better by playing teams that are stronger than you. I hope we experienced that this weekend.”

Harold said the biggest aspect of the team’s success hinges on the team responding to injuries. Both elementary education senior Amanda Gilliard (back) and general studies freshmen Allison Cooley (knee) are out for the season.

“We need some people to step up,” he said. “We need everyone to fill in and pick up the slack that we’ve lost. I think we’re capable of doing that. I think we’re capable of playing at a high level.”