BALTIMORE – Down 4-0 to start the deciding fifth set, Molly Jarvis and Ann Ernst each had kills and teamed for two blocks to help Loyola University Maryland score five-straight against visiting Howard University on Tuesday night. The Greyhounds trailed only once after that point and went on to a 25-23, 23-25, 25-17, 17-25, 15-11 in their non-conference finale.
 
The match was tight throughout, seeing a total of 33 tie scores and 18 lead changes. Loyola (6-9 overall) outscored the Bison (7-9) by four total points in the match.
 
Jarvis finished the night hitting .346 with nine errorless kills on 26 attempts to go with five total blocks.
 
Ernst and Abby Hamilton each had 18 kills for the Greyhounds, while Haley Puddy chipped in 10. Ernst added 23 digs, and Hamilton had 16 as two of three Loyola players with double-doubles. Molly Werts posted 26 assists and 17 digs. Katie Forsythe led the Greyhounds with 27 digs.
 
Howard took advantage of two attack errors early in the fifth set by Loyola to lead 4-0 before the Greyhounds called a timeout.
 
Jarvis put away a kill on a Bison overpass after the break, and she teamed with Ernst for a block to make it 4-2. Ernst had a kill, and a Howard attack error evened the score at 4-4. Jarvis and Ernst again teamed for a block to give Loyola a 5-4 advantage.
 
Howard would go back up a point on two-straight kills, but Molly Werts dumped a set for a kill to tie the score at 6-6, and Ernst put away an overpass to put Loyola back on top. A Bison attack error made it 8-6 Greyhounds, and a Mackenzie Fedota-Cat Vaccaro block pushed the lead to two.
 
Howard would get within one, 9-8, but Ernst responded with a kill to extended the lead to two, a different it would stay at or above for the rest of the match.
 
All of the sets featured defining runs by the respective winning teams, starting with Loyola in the first. The Bison led, 22-18 after a Loyola attack error that forced a Greyhounds' timeout.
 
Hamilton put away a kill out of the timeout, starting an 8-0 Loyola run which saw the Greyhounds take a 24-22 lead on another Hamilton kill. Howard stopped its scoreless stretch with a  Marcelle Butler kill, but Hamilton had another for the Greyhounds, sending Loyola up a set.
 
The Bison took control of the second set with a 7-3 run that turned a Loyola lead of 12-9 to a Bison advantage of 16-14.
 
In the third, Howard led 17-15 on a Butler kill, but it was the last point it would score in the stanza as the Greyhounds reeled off 10 in a row.
 
The Bison rallied in the fourth to score 12 of 17 points, taking a 17-11 lead before forcing the fifth set.
 
Courtney Dalton led Howard with 15 kills, while Jurnee Tipton had 14.
 
Loyola steps back into Patriot League action on Friday, September 28, when it heads to Annapolis, Maryland, to face the U.S. Naval Academy at 7 p.m.