The volleyball team lost to 16th-ranked Houston Baptist (8-0) on the road Saturday, but not before winning its fifth game in a row against Houston-Tillotson (0-6).

Both matches were held at Sharp Gym, home of the Houston Baptist Huskies.

In the opening match, which Head Coach Greg Castillo called a warm-up, the Wolfpack easily won, 30-14, 30-24 and 30-21.

Communications junior Missy Showalter led with nine kills, and chemistry freshman Kelly Fridge recorded 13 digs. Monica Charlton, music business sophomore, added six blocks.

Communications senior Maggie Schaefer and April Barrios, business sophomore, each had four aces. While Suzi Ruiz, history junior, dished out 19 assists.

“I think we did pretty well,” Schaefer said. “We just need to get into a rhythm. We need to get used to everyone.”

Schaefer also said that the team was better than they were against Mississippi College.

“We played a little better,” she said. “We were stronger and made fewer mistakes. People were really nervous for the first home game.”

The ‘Pack lost the second match, 30-21, 30-20, 19-30, 30-19. Houston Baptist improved to seventh in the nation Tuesday.

Schaefer led the team with 15 kills and also added four aces. Ruiz contributed 26 assists, and Amanda Gillard, communications junior, recorded 23 digs.

According to Castillo, Houston Baptist was physically superior.

“Houston Baptist was just bigger. They had a six-foot girl from Kenya who was good enough to play NCAA Division I,” Castillo said. “They had girls as tall as 6’4″ and our tallest player is maybe 5’10” at most.”

Castillo and Schaefer both thought the team played well under the circumstances.

“Houston Baptist ran a faster offense,” Schaefer said. “We could have beaten them on another day.”

Castillo commented on the teams improvement in execution.

“Later on in the game, we could pass our serves,” Castillo said. “We didn’t back down. We played with them.”

The Wolfpack continued its week at Dillard on Tuesday.

The Blue Devils were runners-up in last year’s Region XIII Tournament, which Loyola won. Loyola is ranked first in Region XIII, and Dillard is third.

“They’re not a conventional team,” Schaefer said. “They’re very scrappy, but we’ll beat them if we play well.”

Loyola did win the game, 30-25, 30-25, 25-30, 30-23, bringing its record to 6-2 overall, 1-0 in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference. Dillard fell to 8-5.

“We played a little better,” Castillo said. “We didn’t take advantage of opportunities enough. We should have won in three games.”

Ruiz had 39 assists. Shannon LaHaie, marketing sophomore, led with 24 kills and a .444 hitting percentage. Fridge added 17 digs and Gillard recorded four aces.

“I stress that we have to get better in each match,” Castillo said. “Since we are a short team, we need more ball control. Everybody needs to support each other and get used to each other.”

The ‘Pack earned enough points in the national NAIA poll to rank 31st. Loyola travels to Lubbock, Texas, for a tournament today and Saturday.