Match Information
Opponent	American Eagles
Date	Tuesday, October 3, 2023
Time	7:00 p.m.
Location	Baltimore, Md. | Reitz Arena
Getting There	Directions
Watch	ESPN+ | International Video Stream
Live Stats	Click Here
Game Notes	Loyola

Midweek Fun

• Loyola University Maryland volleyball meets American University on Tuesday, October 3, for its first midweek Patriot League game of the season. The Greyhounds and Eagles will start at 7 p.m. in Reitz Arena. Admission is free for all Loyola volleyball home matches.

Settling In On The Outside

• Morgan Crawford had the best back-to-back matches of her freshman season last weekend, totaling 24 kills in a pair of matches against Lehigh and Bucknell.
• The native of Richmond, Virginia, hit .210 from the outside and averaged 3.43 kills per set in the matches while finishing second on the team in total kills.
• She entered last weekend averaging 1.86 kills per set, but her most-recent games moved that number to 2.08.
• Since the start of Patriot League play, Crawford is averaging 2.71 kills per set and has three matches with 10 or more kills. In non-conference matches, she averaged 1.76 per set. 

Churney In The Middle

• Caitlin Churney has led Loyola with a .345 hitting percentage since September 8, totaling 54 kills with only 15 errors in 113 attempts in the six matches that included the Jack Kaiser Volleyball Classic at St. John's and the Greyhounds' five Patriot League matches thus far.
• She has hit .412 or higher in four of the last eight matches (Siena, Stony Brook, Navy) and had a .455 mark with 11 kills and one error versus Navy.
• Churney leads Loyola in blocks this year with 40 total, an average of 0.77 per set. Her season-high of seven came against Navy when she had two solos and was in on five others.

Soares Sets

• Bryanne Soares has stepped in as a six-rotation setter for most of the last six matches after the Greyhounds opened the year in a 5-2. 
• Since the Stony Brook on September 8, Soares has 260 assists (9.62 per set) with a season- and Loyola-high of 43 coming in the four-set match against Navy; overall she has three matches since September 8 with 40 or more assists.
• Soares also has been a key component on defense, and is second on the team with 2.56 digs per set; she is averaging 3.19 digs per set since the Stony Brook match.

Setting & Hitting

• Kacy Sekunda was named the Patriot League Player of the Week on August 29 after leading the Greyhounds in the first weekend of the season. Playing as a right-side hitter and setter, Sekunda averaged 2.91 kills, 5.0 assists and 2.36 digs in 11 sets that covered three matches.
• She had the first triple-double by a Loyola player since 2015 when she had 11 kills, 24 assists and 11 digs in the tournament's finale against Robert Morris. Her triple-double was the first for Loyola since Molly Werts recorded one, also in a four-set win, on September 11, 2015, against Manhattan.
• Sekunda followed that performance by recording another triple-double against West Virginia, posting 11 kills, 22 assists and 11 digs. She has played in eight matches this year and is averaging 2.39 kills, 4.89 assists and 2.32 digs per set while hitting .240.

Link-ing The Kills

• Lauren Link broke out as a sophomore outside hitter for the Greyhounds in 2021, finishing second on the team with 3.24 kills per set, a mark good for fifth-best in the Patriot League. She had 17 matches with 10 or more kills, including each of the Greyhounds' last 13 contests. During that stretch, she averaged 14.1 kills per match and 3.6 kills per set.
• Last season, Link moved into a role as the Greyhounds' primary option on the outside, and she had the stats to back it up. In 24 matches, she put away 406 kills, an average of 4.56 per set. Link's 4.56 kills per set were tops in the Patriot League and ninth in the NCAA. She had seven matches with 20 or more kills, 16 with 15-plus, and she has put away 11 or more kills in all but two of the 25 matches Loyola has played this year.
• To start the 2023 season, she has nine matches with 10 or more kills and one with 20-plus, a season-high 21 coming against Robert Morris. Her 3.30 kills per set lead the Greyhounds and are sixth in the conference

Brenner Comes Back

• Sophie Brenner missed the first seven matches of the 2023 season with an injury, but she returned at the St. John's tournament and is averaging 2.16 kills per set in the last eight matches with a season-high 14 coming against Bucknell.
• Last year, she was one of the Greyhounds' most productive hitters in the latter portion of the season, posting eight or more kills in 10 of the last 11 matches.

Up Next

• Loyola goes on the road for a Friday night match at Lafayette before returning on Sunday, October 8 to host Holy Cross at 2 p.m.0