August 20, 2022
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Loyola (La.) of New Orleans handed Dakota State (S.D.) its first volleyball defeat Saturday morning on the final day of the Chick-Fil-A Classic, hosted by Keiser (Fla.) at Countess de Hoernle Student Life Center. The Wolfpacks won in four tightly close sets by the scores of 25-22, 25-20, 22-25, and 25-23.
Dakota State, receiving votes in the NAIA Women's Volleyball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 national poll, fell to 2-1 overall record. Loyola, who also received votes recognition in the national poll and was the preseason favorite to win the Southern State Athletic Conference title, finished its tournament with a 3-1 record.
DSU wraps up the tournament versus Georgetown (Ky.) at 2 p.m. (Eastern Time)/1 p.m. (Central Time).
(RV) Loyola (La.) 3, (RV) Dakota State (S.D.) 1 – FINAL (25-22, 25-20, 22-25, 25-23)
- The opening set saw a see-saw battle with both teams with runs. Trailing 5-3, Dakota State exploded for seven straight points to grab a 10-5 lead, with the run sparked by back-to-back kills by Sydney Schell.
- Gracie Bailey of LU nailed down a service ace to trim DSU's lead to 12-10 in the first set. The Trojans maintained its lead between one- and three-points for the next 17 rallies.
- A kill by Vanessa Schroeder followed by another kill by Brooklyn Grage gave Dakota State a 21-18 lead.
- The Wolfpacks stormed back by scoring six straight points to set up a set point opportunity for a 1-0 match lead at 24-21, highlighted by a pair of kills and blocks by Emily Sheperis.
- Hannah Viet smashed a kill to save a set point opportunity as DSU ended its drought, trailing 24-22.
- Loyola took a 1-0 match lead as Simone Tyson recorded a kill to earn a 25-22 set one victory.
- The Wolfpacks outhit the Trojans 16-12 in the first set. The Wolfpacks hit .324 (4 errors in 37 swings) compared to the Trojans .229 hitting percentage (4 errors in 35 attempts).
- Tyson smashed back-to-back kills to give LU a 3-0 head start in the second set.
- Trailing 4-1, the Trojans went on a 10-3 scoring tear to overtake an 11-7 lead and forced the Wolfpacks to burn their first timeout.
- Loyola answered by scoring the next nine points after the timeout to regain their lead at 16-11, thanks to three straight service aces by Brittany Cooper.
- Dakota State could get no closer than two points at 20-18 in the second set.
- Preslie Bowell smashed back-to-back kills to close the second set at 25-20, extending Loyola's match lead to 2-0.
- The Wolfpacks hit .125 in the second set (13 kills with 7 errors in 48 attempts) and held the Trojans to minus .047 hitting percentage (7 kills with 9 errors in 43 swings).
- Despite trailing 16-9 in the third set, Dakota State mounted a furious comeback to extend the match into the fourth set. The Trojans used a 16-6 outburst to win the third set at 25-22.
- LU outhit DSU 14-13 in the third set. The Wolfpacks hit .324 (3 errors in 34 swings) compared to the Trojans .171 (7 errors in 35 attempts).
- A kill by Madalyn Groft (assisted by Peyton Groft) gave DSU a 6-4 early lead in the fourth set.
- Loyola answered by using a 6-0 scoring run to take a 10-6 lead, capped by a block from Tyson and Amaya Bazemore.
- After DSU trimmed LU's lead to 12-10 after Viet's kill, Loyola went on another 6-0 outburst to widen their lead to 18-10.
- Despite trailing 24-18, Dakota State saved five match point opportunities by the Wolfpacks. Grage earned a pair of kills during the scoring run as the Trojans cut LU's lead to 24-23.
- The Wolfpacks called a timeout and ended the drought with a kill by Bazemore, securing the match victory after winning 25-23 in the fourth set.
- Loyola outhit Dakota State 16-12 in the fourth. The Wolfpacks recorded a hitting percentage of .237 (7 errors in 38 attempts) compared to the Trojans .152 hitting efficiency (7 errors in 33 swings).
- M. Groft posted a triple-double for DSU, recording 20 set assists, 16 digs, and 10 kills. She had two service aces. Viet led the offense attack with 14 kills and hit .435. She also had three blocks and three service aces.
- Schell and Grage each tallied six kills for the Trojans. Schell collected 13 digs. Maddi Langerock produced 14 set assists, six digs, and two aces. M. Groft and Schroeder each had three blocks. Riley Grandpre had five kills and two blocks.
- P. Groft led the Trojans' defense with 18 digs.
- Sheperis smashed 18 kills for the Wolfpacks. She hit .441 in the match and earned three blocks. Tyson added a double-double of 11 kills and 15 digs. Cooper had eight kills and 13 digs.
- Bailey produced 25 set assists and seven digs for Loyola. Rebecca LaCour added a double-double of 24 assists and 12 digs. Bazemore had nine kills and three blocks.
- Loyola smashed 59 kills in the match compared to Dakota State 44 kills. The Wolfpacks hit .242 (21 attack errors in 157 swings), while the Trojans hit .116 (27 attack error sin 146 attempts).
- The Trojans recorded nine service aces and three service errors. LU registered eight aces and committed 10 service errors.
- DSU collected 70 digs compared to LU 67 digs. Dakota State had 6.5 team blocks (13 block assists), while Loyola had six blocks (2 solo, 8 assists).
Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director