Loyola opened up its second conference match of the season with a victory on the road against Dillard University’s Blue Devils Monday Sept. 22.

The Wolfpack began the first set serving the ball, but the Blue Devils quickly took the first point of the match with a kill.

The beginning of the set was neck-and-neck as each team traded points back and forth.

The Wolfpack struggled to serve the ball over the net which allowed Dillard to put together a small three point run to lead the Wolfpack 12-9.

“It just comes down to focus and concentration,” Coach Tommy Harold said. “It’s one part of the game that you have complete control over, and if you are focused, you can do it.”

On the ensuing plays after the timeout, the Wolfpack scored three quick points to tie the game at 12-12.

A series of missed opportunities by the Blue Devils as well as a block on an attempted kill allowed the Wolfpack to take a small lead of 21-18. They managed to escape the first set with a score of 25-20.

The Wolfpack opened the second set with two straight points scoring on kills by accounting senior Mary Seals to take an early lead 5-1.

Everything seemed to be going Loyola’s way in the second set as they stretched their lead to 15-7. After several kills by Gina Gills, general studies freshman, the team took a 10 point lead, 18-8.

“Gina is doing a nice job. She’s one of our freshman. She hit a lot of balls on the outside. In our system of play, that’s were our offense is. Gina is stepping up nicely to fill her role for the team,” Harold added.

The Wolfpack won the second set 25-17.

The third set, however, was a different story. Similar to the first set, Loyola gave up numerous points to Dillard due to serving violations.

Dillard attempted to close the gap three times during the set but could not get any closer than two points. The Wolfpack barely survived, holding on long enough to win the final set 25-21.

After the match, Dillard head coach Yolanda Brown said, “It’s just one of those days where our fundamentals fell down. We just weren’t running after the ball or putting the ball in play.”

When asked about his team’s performance, Harold said, “They did what they needed to do to get the win. It wasn’t our greatest match thus far. I feel we have some things we need to work on but it was a conference match so a win is a win.”

Craig Malveaux can be reached at [email protected].