Aug. 30, 2011

Match Information
Opponents	Morgan State Bears UMBC Retrievers Coppin State Eagles Towson Tigers
Dates	Friday, September 2, 2011 | Saturday, September 3, 2011
Time	Friday - 3 p.m. | 6 p.m. Saturday - 1:30 p.m. | 7 p.m.
Location	Friday - Towson, Md. | Towson Center Saturday - Baltimore, Md. | Hill Field House
Getting There	Friday - Directions Saturday - Directions
Game Notes	Battle of Baltimore Notes

Tournament Data

• Loyola University Maryland will face four local opponents this weekend in its second tournament of the 2011 season, the third-annual Battle of Baltimore.
• The Greyhounds will face Morgan State (3 p.m.) and UMBC (6 p.m.) on Friday in matches played at Towson University, and they will then take on Coppin State (1:30 p.m.) and Towson (7 p.m.) on Saturday at Morgan State.

Battling In Baltimore

• Loyola has finished second out of five teams in each of the first two Battles of Baltimore, going 3-1 both years.
• In 2009, the Greyhounds defeated Morgan State (3-0), Navy (3-0) and Maryland (3-1), but lost to Towson (3-1). Last season, they topped Morgan State (3-1), UMBC (3-0) and Coppin State (3-1) before falling to Towson (3-0).

Big Orange Bash Recap

• The Greyhounds went 1-2 in its season-opening tournament, Clemson's Big Orange Bash, last weekend, but Head Coach Jake Lawrence was pleased with his team's overall performance. Loyola lost to Clemson in three, beat South Carolina State in straight-sets and then fell to Tennessee State in four.

Fresh Faces

• Four players - Lauren Andersen, Tina Catanach, Mindy Maloney and Kara Schiffer - made their collegiate debuts last Friday night against Clemson, and another, Elena Frac, played for the first time in a Loyola uniform after starting her career last year at North Carolina State.
• The four freshmen combined for 49 kills, 48 digs, seven aces, nine blocks and 93 set assists during the first three matches of 2011.

First Week Honors

• Freshman outside hitter Tina Catanach was named to the Big Orange Bash All-Tournament Team last weekend after finishing with a team-high 29 kills. She also had 18 digs and totaled 35 points.

Lawrence Takes The Helm

• Jake Lawrence was introduced as the Greyhounds' head coach earlier this summer after spending the last three seasons at Georgetown University. Lawrence, a 2006 graduate of Xavier University, helped the Hoyas engineer one of the biggest turnarounds in program history in 2008 when they improved by nine games.
• Lawrence will be joined on the bench by Cynammon Burns, a former standout libero at American University, and Patrick Kerley, a fellow Xavier alumnus.

A Look Back

• Loyola finished 2010 with a 15-20 record and 8-10 mark in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference to tie for fifth in the league's regular-season.
• Nina Camaioni earned MAAC Defensive Player of the Year honors and was named to the All-MAAC First Team as a senior. She led the team with 3.98 kills and was second on the squad with 3.06 digs per set. The Greyhounds' only other senior was libero Brittany Born who led the team with 3.79 digs per set.

Youth Will Be Served

• Loyola's roster of 17 players, but it lacks any seniors. Three juniors are joined by nine sophomores and five freshmen.
• In addition to the five freshmen who are new to Loyola, the programs welcomed a transfer, sophomore Elena Frac, from North Carolina State. Frac played in 19 matches last season for the Wolfpack.

But, Plenty Of Experience

• While the team is certainly youthful, three players who started 27 or more matches a year ago return to the court.
• Jac Bullock started all 34 matches and led the team with 87 total blocks, while Katie Dircks was opened 29 matches and was second on the squad with 280 kills and third with 283 digs. Nicole Sarby made 27 starts and finished third on the team with 266 kills.