Loyola volleyball splits last day of St. Thomas Tournament

Posted: October 24, 2009

Houston, Texas - The Loyola University New Orleans volleyball team finished up play on Saturday at the University of St. Thomas Tournament, defeating Embry Riddle 3-2 (25-14, 19-25, 25-20, 15-25, 15-10) in the first match, and falling 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 21-25, 22-25) to host St. Thomas.

Against Embry in the first set, after Gina Gill gave Loyola (14-10) a 13-11 lead on a kill, Taylor Jones served eight straight points which included three of her game high 5 aces. A kill by Rachael Roth would give the Wolfpack a 25-14 victory.

In the second game, Embry broke an 8-8 tie on a kill, and then extended their lead to 21-16. Loyola was unable to come back, as Embry took the set 25-19.

The third game was back and fourth, until Loyola closed out the set with five straight points to take the game 25-20. Taylor Jones broke the 20-20 tie with two consecutive kills, and Kari Price added an ace during the run for the win.

Embry used a 8-0 lead in the fourth set to even up the match with a 25-15 victory. In the final set, Gill put Loyola up 13-10 with her 16th kill of the match. Two errors by Embry gave the Wolfpack a 15-10 win, sealing the match 3-2.

Along with Gill, Ashley Abendschein led Loyola with 11 kills, and Jones finished with seven. Samantha Worsham had 41 assists, and Amanda Oldani dug out 19 attacks.

In the final match, St. Thomas took an early 10-6 lead in the opening game, forcing a Wolfpack timeout. Loyola chipped away at the lead, tying the game at 16-16. The Wolfpack gained the lead at 19-17, then Lindsey Mullinix served two aces to extend the advantage. After a block by Jones, a setting error gave Loyola a 25-21 victory.

The next two sets, St. Thomas proved to be to much, as they won both games 25-21. In the fourth set, the Lady Celts lead for most of the match, until an Abendschein kill gave Loyola their first lead at 15-14. With the game tied at 20-20, St. Thomas closed out the set with a 5-2 run, taking the game 25-22 and winning the match.

Gill led Loyola once again with 13 kills. Roth added seven kills, with Jones and Mullinix finishing with 6 each. Worsham led with 30 assists, and Oldani finished with 14 digs.

The Wolfpack return to The Den on Tuesday, Oct. 27 to host GCAC rival Spring Hill in their final home match of the season. First serve is set to start at 7 p.m.

Helpful links:
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http://naia.org
http://www.neworleans.com/sports/local-sports-news/loyola-news.html

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