BALTIMORE – Loyola University Maryland volleyball hit .344 in the firs two sets on Friday night to jump out to a 2-0 lead en route to a 25-17, 25-17, 19-25, 25-18 Patriot League victory over visiting Lehigh University in Reitz Arena.
Set Breakdown
- Set One
- Loyola led 11-10, but a Kennedy Stevens kill for sideout sparked a 6-1 Greyhounds' run that included a pair of kills by Lauren Link.
- Lehigh got back within three, 17-14, but Stevens again sided out with a kill, and Sophie Brenner had another kill to push the lead back to five.
- Two Lehigh attack errors later gave the Greyhounds set point, and Rose McDermott served an ace to put Loyola up a set.
- Set Two
- After hitting .375 in the first set, the Greyhounds cooled slightly to .310, but they still controlled the frame.
- Loyola turned a 4-3 lead into a 12-6 advantage, forcing a Lehigh timeout.
- The Greyhounds stayed in front by five or more for the next several points until Lehigh's Lylah Washington had a kill to make it 20-16.
- Morgan Crawford responded with a sideout kill to get the Greyhounds back up five, and Sophie Brenner put away another kill to make it 22-16.
- Set Three
- Lehigh picked up its scoring in the third set, going up 12-9 before Loyola would score four in a row to lead, 13-12.
- The Greyhounds went up 15-13, but Lehigh scored the next three and did not trail the rest of the stanza, forcing a fourth.
- Set Four
- A Kennedy Stevens kill and a Bryanne Soares ace made it 14-10 Loyola midway through the set.
- The Mountain Hawks got back within three on a sideout, but that was as close as they'd draw the remainder of the match after kills by Stevens and Link swung the momentum fully to Loyola.
Stat Pack
- Link led all players with 14 kills, and Morgan Crawford added 10 for the Greyhounds.
- Loyola's middle blockers – Kennedy Stevens and Caitlin Churney – combined to hit .438 in the match. Churney had seven kills without an error on 17 attempts, while Stevens put away nine balls with two kills in 15 swings.
- Churney had a team-high four blocks, three of them solo.
- Soares had a match-best 42 assists, while McDermott led all players with 19 digs. Link completed her double-double with 11 digs.
- Stevens had a match-high three service aces, while Link and Leah Hunter each had two.
Up Next
- Loyola will bounce right back with another match on Saturday evening when it hosts Bucknell University at 6 p.m. in Reitz Arena.
