Getting Back At It
- Loyola University Maryland volleyball returns to the court after two weeks off for a Friday night match on March 19 at American University.
- The Eagles and Greyhounds are slated to start at 7 p.m. in Bender Arena.
- On Sunday, Loyola will host Lehigh University in a 2 p.m. match in Reitz Arena.
Patriot League Network on ESPN+
- A new season means a new home for streaming video of Patriot League contests. Last summer, the conference announced a multi-year agreement that made ESPN+ the exclusive digital home for live Patriot League events. Christian Taylor returns to call home volleyball matches for the Greyhounds.
- Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for great Patriot League games, as well as much more. Information is available at http://loyo.la/espnplus20.
- Additionally, international fans can subscribe to watch games via SIDEARM Sports. Information for that can also be found at LoyolaGreyhounds.com.
Season Format
- With health and safety at the forefront, the Patriot League has created a modified schedule for volleyball teams to play this year. The Greyhounds will play teams closer to Baltimore to minimize travel and overnight stays.
- Aside from one weekend when it is split against Navy and American, Loyola will play two-match series against a given opponent.Â
- The top-four teams in the Patriot League standings will qualify for the Patriot League Championships in early April.
Preseason Prognostications
- Loyola was picked to finish sixth in a preseason poll of Patriot League coaches and staff, while sophomore libero Katie Forsythe earned a nod to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team.
Two Better Than Five
- Loyola's last two seasons (2018 and 2019) have produced 15 Patriot League victories during the regular-season and two trips to the conference championships. In the Greyhounds first five years in the League, starting in 2013, they won just 13 conference matches.
Angus Joins Staff
- Cinthia Angus joined the Loyola volleyball staff as an assistant coach in March 2020 and will join Alija Pittenger on the sideline this season.Â
- The last four seasons, Angus was an assistant coach at Barry University in the Miami area where she helped the team reach two NCAA Division II Championships.
- The native of Brazil was also head coach at Snow College in Utah after playing professionally following her playing career at the University of Utah.
Twice Is Nice
- Katie Forsythe was named the Patriot League Libero of the Year for the second time in as many seasons in 2019, becoming the first player in conference history to win the award as both a freshman and sophomore.
- She also earned All-Patriot League First Team recognition for the second year in a row and was joined on the All-League team by Ann Ernst who was named to the second team.
- Following the 2019 season, Forsythe became the first player in program history to be named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Region Team. She was then named the ECAC Defensive Player of Year (a regional honor), and she was invited to Colorado Springs for Team USA Tryouts.
Another Record-Setting Season
- Katie Forsythe set the Patriot League and Loyola single-season records for digs in 2018 with 697, and she broke that mark in 2019, finishing the season with 753.
- Forsythe added another mark in the books on October 26, 2019, against Holy Cross. She tied the conference and set the school single-match records for digs with 46 against the Crusaders. She matched the Naval Academy's Sydney Shearn who had 46 in a 2017 match against Army West Point. The 46 digs are tied for second-most in NCAA Division I this season.
- In Patriot League matches in 2019 Forsythe is averaging 6.65 digs per set (6.15 overall), 1.35 digs per set more than the next-closest conference player.
Fastest To 1,000
- Sophomore libero Katie Forsythe became the fastest player to 1,000 digs in Loyola and Patriot League history when she picked up her 15th of the match against NJIT on September 22, 2019.Â
- The Ohio native crossed the milestone in the second set of her 44th career match. In 2018, she set the Patriot League and Loyola single-season records with 697 digs only to break it with 726 a year later. she has 1,505 career digs to rank third in Loyola's all-time history behind Brittany Born (2007-10, 2,042) and Nina Camaioni (2007-10, 1,697).
Upping Her Output
- Abby Hamilton started all 30 matches as a freshman and was second on the team with 354 kills, an average of 2.97 per set. In 31 2019 matches, the Wisconsin native increased her per-set mark significantly, checking in at 3.71 with 453 total kills. Hamilton did this while raising her hitting percentage from .172 in 2018 to .197 in 2019.
- Through two matches this season, Hamilton leads Loyola with 31 kills, an average of 3.1 per set.
