NEWARK, Del. – Loyola University Maryland volleyball hit .229 and held Niagara University to .000 on Saturday morning, and the Greyhounds picked up their first win of the season with a 25-19, 25-17, 25-21 win at the Blue Hen Invitational.
Set Breakdown
- Set One
- Niagara (0-1, overall) led 7-5 in the early-going, but Loyola turned a 9-3 run into a 14-10 lead. The Purple Eagles closed the game to one four times after that, including at 19-18, but Caitlin Churney had a kill, and Riley Hamilton reeled off two more before a Niagara attack error made it 23-18 Greyhounds.
- The Purple Eagles hit -.156 in the set with just five kills against 10 hitting errors.
- Set Two
- Loyola (1-1) never trailed in the set and used a 7-2 run to turn a 7-7 tie into a 14-9 advantage on a Lauren Link kill.
- Hamilton made it 19-13 with a kill, and Morgan Crawford extended it to 22-14 with one of her own.
- Kacy Sekunda and Link then had kills to finish out the set.
- Set Three
- Niagara scored five in a row to lead 5-2, but Loyola regained the lead at 7-6 and did not trail thereafter.
- Kylie Blessing had an ace for the Purple Eagles to tie the score at 14-14, but Crawford sided out with a kill, and after a Niagara attack miscue, Link and Crawford each had kills to complete the 4-0 Greyhounds run.
Stat Pack
- Link led all players with 11 kills, and Sekunda had nine with 15 assists and seven digs.
- Hamilton and Morgan Crawford both had seven kills, and Kennedy Stevens recorded five.
- Rose McDermott led the Greyhounds in digs for the second match in a row with nine.
- Bryanne Soares had 16 assists and six digs for Loyola.
- Kinga Wronska was Niagara's leading hitter with seven kills.
Up Next
- Loyola wraps up the Blue Hen Invitational late on Saturday with a match against Robert Morris University scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
