If the Loyola women’s volleyball team wants to capture its third straight Region XIII title tomorrow and make a trip to the national tournament in San Diego, it will have to do it in unfamiliar territory.
The ‘Pack, which has been the No. 1 seed both of the past two seasons, is the No. 4 seed for the regional tournament that begins today at Spring Hill in Mobile, Ala.
Loyola had its streak of four consecutive Gulf Coast Athletic Conference titles snapped last Saturday when the team lost in the semifinal round to Dillard in five games (31-33, 30-27, 27-30, 30-25, and 15-13).
But coach Tommy Harold said the seedings don’t mean his team is incapable of winning the region.
“The seeding doesn’t matter a whole lot,” he said. “It only makes a difference in who you play. If you’re trying to win, then you’ve got to beat everybody there.”
Loyola (18-14) will be in a pool on Friday with No. 2 Dillard and No. 6 Georgia Southwestern.
The top two teams advance to the semifinals on Saturday. No. 1 Spring Hill, No. 3 Faulkner and No. 5 Brewton-Parker are in the other pool.
In the semifinal match against Dillard, Loyola fell two points from victory in the fifth and deciding game.
General business junior Ashley Cobette led the ‘Pack with 32 kills. Harold said that the recognized threshold of a great game at this level is 30 kills.
On Nov. 14, Loyola clinched a semifinal spot in the GCAC tournament by defeating Belhaven in four games, 23-30, 30-22, 30-22, and 30-21.
But the team’s run at a fifth straight GCAC crown was cut short by Dillard the next day. Harold said that if the teams meet again, he has confidence that the team can rebound and win.
“I think so, because we only lost to Dillard by two points in the fifth set,” he said. “Two points should be doable. The match was back and forth. … Dillard is bigger and stronger, but we were able to hang right with them because of our defense and ball control.”
Loyola has a combined 5-4 record this season against teams seeded higher in the tournament, including a 2-1 mark against top-seeded Spring Hill. Two of the four losses came in five games.
Harold said that in the past year, his team has lost four starters but remains confident due to past and current success.
“Anytime you’ve done something in the past (such as winning two straight regional tournaments), you’re capable. This is a completely different team, but a lot of them were around the past two years. So they have that feeling and want to win just as much.
“If we show up, play and give our top effort, then we’ll be happy with the results. I think they believe they can play with anybody. Now it’s just a matter of actually doing that.”
