BALTIMORE – Loyola University Maryland volleyball trailed College of the Holy Cross, 22-21 in the fourth set on Saturday afternoon, but the Greyhounds scored the match's last five points to close out a four-set Patriot League victory, 25-15, 25-20, 23-25, 25-22, in Reitz Arena.
 
Katie Forsythe broke her own single-match school record for digs with 42, one better than the 41 she had earlier this season in a four-set win over Towson University. Her 42 gives her three-straight matches with 30 or more digs, and she is one of only two players in NCAA Division I with two matches of 40 or more this season (Charlotte's Yumi Garcia).
 
Her 42 digs against the Crusaders are tied for the most by any NCAA Division I player in a four-set match this season, matching Villanova University's Regan Lough.
 
Mackenzie Fedota set a career-high with 10 total blocks, becoming the third player in Loyola history to register 10 or more in a match since the NCAA implemented 25-point scoring in 2008. Molly Jarvis set a school record with 13 Friday night in a win over the U.S. Military Academy, and Jac Bullock had 11 in 2010 against Manhattan College. Both of those totals, however, came in five-set matches.
 
Ann Ernst had 13 kills and the same number of digs for her fourth double-double in five matches. Abby Hamilton matched Ernst for match-high honors with 13 digs and also had 10 digs, while Molly Werts was the third Greyhounds player with a double-double, tallying 25 assists to go with 13 digs.
 
Loyola (8-11 overall, 3-3 Patriot League) started the match on a hot note, hitting .314 in the opening set while holding the Crusaders (3-16, 2-4) to an even .000 with eight kills and eight errors.
 
While the Greyhounds' hitting percentage cooled in the second – they hit .159 after logging a pair of hitting errors in the final three points of the set – a 6-2 run midway through the stanza helped push them to a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Holy Cross, however, rallied in the third set, turning a 14-14 tie into an 18-14 advantage before Loyola called a timeout. The Greyhounds pulled back within one, 20-19 on an Ernst kill, but a service error swung the point back to the Crusaders. Cat Vaccaro sided out for the Greyhounds with one of her seven kills to make it 21-20, but again a service miscue gave Holy Cross a two-point lead.
 
That lead stretched to three after a Loyola attack error, but the Crusaders hit wide, and Hamilton put away a kill to make it 23-22. Holy Cross sided out with a Rachel Harding kill, and this time a Crusaders' service error got the Greyhounds within a point, but Katie Kerins finished the set with a kill to force a fourth set.
 
Neither Loyola, nor Holy Cross, found an offensive rhythm in the fourth, and the lead was no larger than two throughout.
 
The Crusaders pulled ahead 19-18 after a Loyola attack error, but Haley Puddy and Hamilton had kills to get the Greyhounds back in front and force a Holy Cross timeout. Molly Jarvis and Vaccaro locked up a block out of the break to give Loyola a 21-19 lead, but the Crusaders ripped off three-straight points to lead 22-21 on a Clare Honan kill.
 
This time, it was Loyola's turn to take a timeout, and the slowdown worked as Loyola sided out when Jarvis and Vaccaro had another block to even the score, and a Holy Cross attack error put Loyola in front by a point. Vaccaro tallied a kill off the right side to give the Greyhounds match-point, and Hamitlon served an ace to close the match.
 
Overall, the Greyhounds had 17 blocks in the match, the third-most in school history (under 25-point scoring) after 18 against Towson and 17.5 last night. Jarvis added seven, while Puddy had six and Vaccaro five.
 
Loyola returns to home action on Saturday, October 13, when it hosts Bucknell University in a 5 p.m. contest in Reitz Arena.