DURHAM, N.C. –
Lauren Link had 14 kills, and
Kacy Sekunda recorded her second triple-double in three matches on Friday as Loyola University Maryland volleyball beat West Virginia University for the Greyhounds' first victory over a team from the Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12, ACC or SEC since 2009.
Loyola took the match's first two sets and finished with a 25-23, 25-21, 19-25, 25-20 victory at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium. The last win over a team from one of the five conferences came nearly 14 years ago when the Greyhounds beat the University of Maryland in four on September 5, 2009.
Set Breakdown
- Set One
- The Greyhounds led by four early in the set, but West Virginia came back to tie at 19-19 on a Haley Green kill. The Mountaineers then scored the next point to lead for the first time since it was 1-0.
- Riley Hamilton sided out with a kill for Loyola, but Green responded for West Virginia, and then Tierney Jackson and Bailey Miller had a block to give the Mountaineers a 22-20 advantage.
- A Jackson attack error sided out for Loyola, and the Greyhounds regained the lead behind kills from Link and Caitlin Churney, forcing a West Virginia timeout. The Mountaineers sided out to tie the score at 23-23 on a Loyola service error, but Morgan Crawford had a kill from the right side for Loyola, and she teamed with Kennedy Stevens for a block to end the set and put Loyola up, 1-0.
- Set Two
- West Virginia led 13-11, but Loyola scored seven of the next nine points to go up 18-15 on a Sekunda kill.
- The Mountaineers would eventually tie the set at 21-21 with a Maddy McGrath-Lauren DeLo block, but the Greyhounds score the set's last four points.
- Hamilton put away a kill, and Churney had a solo block to build a 23-21 lead, and the pair then teamed for a block to give the Greyhounds set point. Loyola earned the set win off of a West Virginia attack error.
- Set Three
- West Virginia forced 12 hitting errors by the Greyhounds in the third set and led throughout the get back within a game.
- Set Four
- A Tierney-Green block gave West Virginia a 12-10 lead, but Link soon tied it up at 12-12 with a kill.
- Stevens served an ace, and then Sekunda and Churney had a block to push Loyola up, 17-14, and the Mountaineers would not get closer than two the rest of the set.
Stat Pack
- Sekunda had 11 kills, 22 assists and 11 digs for her second triple-double in Loyola's last three matches.
- Link took 31 swings and connected for 14 kills, while Hamilton put away nine kills.
- Rose McDermott led all players with 15 digs as the Greyhounds led 56-46 in digs during the match.
- The Greyhounds totaled a season-high 14 total blocks. Stevens and Churney each had four individually.
Up Next
- Loyola will close its three-match road trip to the Tar Heel State on Saturday, September 2, with a 6 p.m. match at the University of North Carolina.
