Hampton Inn & Suites Seahawk Classic
Location	Wilmington, N.C. | Hanover Hall
Getting There	Directions
Game Notes	Loyola
Opponent	Queens (N.C.) Royals
Date	Friday, August 30, 2024
Time	2:30 p.m.
Online Media	Live Stats
Opponent	UNCW Seahawks
Date	Saturday, August 31, 2024
Time	10:00 a.m.
Online Media	Live Stats | Watch (FloSports)
Opponent	East Carolina Pirates
Date	Saturday, August 31, 2024
Time	1:30 p.m.
Online Media	Live Stats

Getting Things Started

• Loyola University Maryland volleyball opens its 2024 season this weekend with a trio of matches at the Hampton Inn & Suites Seahawk Classic hosted by UNCW. 
• The Greyhounds travel to Wilmington, North Carolina, for the tournament, which starts when they play Queens University of Charlotte at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, August 30. 
• Loyola will then play two contests on Saturday, starting at 10 a.m. when it faces the host Seahawks. A 1:30 p.m. match against East Carolina wraps up the weekend.

Looking Back

• Loyola made its fifth all-time appearance in the Patriot League Championships last year, all of which have come in the last five full seasons of competition. 
• Overall, Loyola finished with an 11-16 record and 6-10 mark in the Patriot League play to finish sixth in the conference.

The Numbers Return

• Loyola returns 12 of 13 players who saw game action last season with the exception of one player who took part in four sets over two matches.
• Statistically, the Greyhounds return 1,172 of 1,173 kills and 143.5 of 144 total blocks.

1,000 Kill Threshold

• Lauren Link became the 13th player in Loyola history to cross the 1,000-kill plateau when she picked up her eighth kill of the 2023 regular-season finale at Holy Cross. 
• Link hit the mark in her 78th career match. She has averaged 3.68 kills across 277 career sets.

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.
• In 2022, 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.
• During the 2023 season, she has 15 matches with 10 or more kills and one with 20-plus, a season-high 21 coming against Robert Morris. Her 3.27 kills per set lead the Greyhounds and are sixth in the conference.

Settling In On The Outside

• Morgan Crawford had the best back-to-back matches of her freshman season, totaling 24 kills in a pair of matches earlier against Lehigh and Bucknell late in the 2023 season.
• 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 in those matches.
• She entered that weekend averaging 1.86 kills per set, but she raised that to 1.98 by the end of the season.
• In conference play, Crawford averaged 2.16 kills per set and had four matches with 10 or more kills. In non-conference matches, she averaged 1.76 per set. 

Churney In The Middle

• Caitlin Churney led Loyola with a .263 hitting percentage since September 8, 2023, totaling 123 kills with only 41 errors in 312 attempts in those 18 matches that included the Jack Kaiser Volleyball Classic at St. John's and the Greyhounds' 15 Patriot League matches in which she played.
• She hit .400 or higher in five of the last 18 matches (Siena, Stony Brook, Navy) and had a .455 mark with 11 kills and one error versus Navy at home.
• Churney leads Loyola in blocks this year with 63 total, an average of 0.76 per set. Her season-high of seven came at home against Navy when she had two solos and was in on five others.

Talking Triple Doubles

• Kacy Sekunda had four triple doubles last season, a total that was tied for in NCAA Division I. 
• She posted two in the first two weeks of the season – in wins over Robert Morris and West Virginia – and her second pair came in the last two weeks of the regular season – wins over Army West Point and Holy Cross. She just missed a quadruple double against the Crusaders, finishing two blocks shy. 
• Sekunda played in just 20 matches due to an injury, but she averaged 2.24 kills, 4.56 assists and 2.30 digs per set.

Moving Toward Rotation Time

• Three Loyola sophomores are pushing for more time in the rotation this season after seeing little or none last year.
• Ava Nepkin was injured early before playing limited time in four matches as a hitter, while setter Gabi Verdicchio and middle blocker Mariah Sanabia did not play in their freshmen seasons. All three could see their first extended time this weekend at the opening tournament.