The volleyball team maintained its first-place regional ranking with home wins over conference foes Dillard and Belhaven.
Although Dillard (17-9) was runner-up in the region last year and is now ranked second, the ‘Pack has defeated the Blue Devils six consecutive times.
“They’re very scrappy and hit balls out of nowhere. We’re more disciplined,” said Amanda Gilliard, communications junior.
Loyola easily won the first two games against Dillard, 30-19 and 30-20, and appeared headed for a sweep when the team went up, 4-0, in the third game.
The Wolfpack’s miscues and the Blue Devils’ tight defense quickly changed the game. Dillard went on to win, 30-21.
That momentum carried Dillard to a 9-1 lead in the fourth game. The ‘Pack rallied back, but lost that game, 30-28.
“I think we played well in that game. It showed our experience, but you still want to win games like that,” Head Coach Greg Castillo said.
That win by Dillard forced a decisive fifth game. From the first serve, it was clear that the Blue Devils had the Wolfpack’s attention. The ‘Pack showed why it was number one in winning the final game 15-7.
Suzi Ruiz, history junior, led the team in two categories with 53 assists and six aces. She also recorded 14 digs.
Communications senior Maggie Schaefer contributed 15 kills and 11 digs. Gilliard led the ‘Pack out of its slump. She added 20 kills and 23 digs.
“The younger players look up to us so we have to step up,” Gilliard said.
Although he acknowledged that Dillard played well, Castillo expresed frustration that the match went to five games.
“We concentrate on our own game. We had time off [for Isidore] and should make us better,” Castillo said.
On Tuesday, Loyola defeated Belhaven (1-17), 30-24, 30-24, 30-16.”We expected to win but their record is deceiving,” Castillo said.
Belhaven took a 3-0 lead in the first game of the match, but the Wolfpack scored the next four points. The ‘Pack went up 23-15, but the Lady Blazers did not give up.
They narrowed the score to 25-22, but Gilliard’s kill made the score 29-24 and put the game out of reach.
Loyola started the next game 7-2, but this time struggled in the middle. Belhaven went up 15-13, but the ‘Pack won six of the next seven points and never looked back.
Despite the final score of the third game, victory did not come easily. There were nine ties and 3 lead changes as the Wolfpack took a 15-14 lead.
Krista Danos, management and marketing senior, helped the team to a more comfortable 20-15 lead, and Loyola had no problems after that.Gilliard led with 12 digs. Laurie Cacioppo, management sophomore, had 10 digs and led with 17 assists. Ruiz again led in assists with 26 and added nine digs. Schaefer led offensively with 11 kills.
“I’d like to be playing better. I’m not near where I want to be but I’ll be there soon,” Schaefer said.
Schaefer was a little more upbeat about the team.
“I think the team is playing awesome. There is always room for improvement and better communication,” she added.
Castillo was more guarded in his comments.
“We were blocking better. We’ve been working on hitting so we can get one-on-one chances,” he said.
Castillo said the team needed to work on passing ball control. Although the team concentrates on one game at a time, it still finds itself in a good position for the playoffs.
“Our next big goal is to be able to host conference,” Schaefer said.The ‘Pack hosts the Loyola Invitational this weekend. It will play Dillard again tomorrow, then Millsaps on Sunday.
“We haven’t beaten Millsaps in a while. This should be a good opportunity,” Castillo said.
