Volleyball: Wolf Pack outlasted by William Carey on Saturday, 3-1

Looking to snap a three-match losing streak, the Loyola University New Orleans volleyball team headed to Hattiesburg, Mississippi on Saturday morning for a match against Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) opponent William Carey University inside the newly dedicated Ben Waddle Volleyball Facility.

The Wolf Pack entered Saturday’s contest at 9-10 overall and 2-4 in the SSAC while having lost its last two conference matchups. Similarly, the Crusaders came into Saturday’s matchup with two conference wins on the season and having lost three of its last four matches overall.

Saturday’s affair proved to be a battle as two of the four total sets went into extra points, including a marathon second frame that saw the winning squad climb all the way to 30 points in order to seal the win.  Although the Wolf Pack claimed the opening set 25-22, the home team would take the following three sets to earn the 3-1 victory in a match where all four sets were decided by an average of fewer than three points.

The loss drops Loyola to 9-11 overall and 2-5 in the SSAC, while William Carey jumps to 13-10 on the year and 3-4 in conference matches following the win.

It was all Wolf Pack early as the team raced out to a sizeable 8-2 advantage to start the opening frame. Loyola would maintain the cushion for the majority of the set and the team saw itself up two, 22-20, in the waning moments of the opener.  Despite being down, the home team would score the final five points of the set – thanks in large part to three kills from Jordan Stephens – to snag the 25-22 come-from-behind victory.

The Crusaders found themselves with set point, 24-22, late in the second frame until an error by Mikaela Hall paired with a service ace by Malea Howie (SO/Greenwood, Ind.) knotted the set at 24 all.  WCU’s Chassidy Harris’s kill put the home team up 25-24 but the Wolf Pack quickly answered back with a kill from Tylar Beckham (SO/New Orleans, La.) to tie the score at 25-25. Down 26-25, Maddie Huekels (JR/Dyer, Ind.) connected with Natavia Mitchell(JR/Austin, Texas) to knot the set at 26-26 before an attack error by the Crusaders’ Stephens put Loyola back on top at 27-26. The home team would score the next two points to reclaim the lead at 28-27 but Loyola refused to go down as the visitors used a kill by Adelida Obioha (FR/New Orleans, La.), an ace by Kaitlynn Watson (SO/South Lake Tahoe, Ca.), and an attack error by WCU to secure to 30-28 set win in the highest scoring set for the Wolf Pack thus far this season.

With the scoreboard reading 16-13 in favor of Loyola in set three, the Crusaders strung together a 4-0 run to grab the slim 17-16 cushion in the third frame.  The Wolf Pack managed to come back and tie the set at 20-20, but a 5-1 spurt to close out the frame by the home team would lead to the 25-21 victory in the set to put William Carey up 2-1 in the match.

Set four looked to be an easy win for the Crusaders as the home team was just one point (24-20) away from closing out the match. Down four,  Loyola utilized kills from Malea Howie and Mitchell – along with two WCU errors –  to orchestrate a 4-0 run which knotted the set at 24-24.  Despite the momentum favoring the other side, the Crusaders were able to maintain their focus and score the final two points of the day to claim the fourth set 26-24 and the overall match, 3-1.

The Wolf Pack featured three attackers with at least 10 kills, led by Howie’s 13 on 44 attempts. Beckham chipped in 12 kills in the loss while Beatriz Agosto (SO/Miami, Fla.) added 10 kills on 39 total attacks. Natavia Mitchell logged a season-high eight kills off the bench on Saturday and Helene Masone (FR/Destin, Fla.)’s 26 digs marked a career best for the talented freshman. Maddie Huekels paced the Loyola offense with a season-best 27 helpers and Adelia Obioha added six kills and a team-leading five blocks in four sets.

WCU’s Jordan Stephens led all players with 19 kills while Mikaela Hall and Gillian Tripp combined for 47 of the William Carey’s 52 total assists.

Loyola returns to action tomorrow, Oct. 7, with two matches in Columbus, Mississippi against the Mississippi University for Women (Noon) and Fisk University (2:00 p.m.).