Loyola volleyball splits doubleheader in Hampton Inn Wolfpack Classic

Posted: October 9, 2009

New Orleans, La. – In the first day of the Hampton Inn Wolfpack Classic, the Loyola University New Orleans volleyball team split their two matches, losing in five games to St. Thomas, and then defeating Lincoln Christian 3-2.

In the first match against St. Thomas (11-6), a kill by Rachael Roth put the Wolfpack up 15-12, and they would eventually extend their lead to 23-16. Amanda Oldani then sealed the first game with an ace, giving Loyola a 25-18 victory.

The second game, Loyola (10-8) held an 11-6 lead, but St. Thomas battled back with eight of the next 11 points to tie it up at 14-14. The Lady Celts held a slight advantage the rest of the way, then Mallory Wendel finished Loyola off by serving the last two points for the 25-21 win.

In the third set, after a 5-5 tie early on, St. Thomas scored 10 of the next 15 points to go up 15-10. The Lady Celts extended their lead to as much as seven, before taking the game 25-20.

In the fourth game, Loyola was down 12-14 before Oldani served five straight points. Roth then blocked a kill attempt to make the score 21-17, and Loyola would go on to even up the match with a 25-18 win.

In the decisive game five, Loyola held a slim lead in the early going until St. Thomas evened things up at 11-11. With the score tied at 13-13, the Lady Celts got a kill and then blocked a Wolfpack attempt to take the game 15-13, sealing the 3-2 victory for St. Thomas.

For Loyola, Gina Gill and Roth had 12 kills each. Samantha Worsham finished with 40 assists, and Amanda Oldani had three aces and 14 digs.

In the match against Lincoln Christian (15-4), the first set started out with several lead changes. Loyola, facing a 16-15 disadvantage, reeled off five straight points which included two aces by Roth. With the Wolfpack up 24-22, an Ashley Abendschein kill gave Loyola the win.

The Red Lions answered back in game two with a 28-26 win. The biggest lead in the set was a 16-19 advantage by Lincoln Christian.

Game three was just as close at the second set. With the game tied at 20-20, Loyola’s Roth delivered three kills as the Wolfpack outscored Lincoln Christian 5-2 down the stretch for the win.

After a convincing 25-15 win by the Red Lions in game four, Loyola came out poised in the final set, with Samantha Worsham serving seven straight points to give the Wolfpack a 7-0 lead. However, the Red Lions came roaring back to tie the game at 12-12. With Worsham serving again, Loyola scored the final three points as Lindsay Mullinix would end the match with a kill.

Gill led the way with 19 kills while adding four aces. Roth finished with 11 kills, and Mullinix added nine. Worsham led once again in assists with 42. Defensively, Oldani had 13 digs, with Kailey Tuthill, Gill, and Worsham adding 10 each. Freshman Taylor Jones finished the match with five blocks.

Loyola wraps up the Hampton Inn Wolfpack Classic on Saturday with rematches against St. Thomas at 11:30 a.m. and Lincoln Christian at 2:30 p.m.

Helpful links:
http://wolfpack.loyno.edu
http://wolfpack.loyno.edu/giving
http://blog.nola.com/wolfpack/
http://gcaconf.com
https://twitter.com/loyolawolfpack
http://loyolamaroon.com
http://naia.org
http://www.neworleans.com/sports/local-sports-news/loyola-news.html

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http://wolfpack.loyno.edu/packbackers_newsletter.php

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