Loyola University Maryland’s volleyball team returns to Retiz Arena for the first time since September 28 to host a rare midweek Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference match on Wednesday night at 7 o’clock against Manhattan.
The Greyhounds then head back on the MAAC road, for their fourth-straight weekend of road league matches, on Saturday and Sunday at Marist and Siena.
Time Change On Saturday
Saturday’s game at Marist has been changed to a 5 o’clock start.
Burns Receives AVCA Scholarship
Loyola Assistant Coach Cynammon Burns was named one of 12 recipeints nationally of the American Volleyball Coaches Association Minority Coaches Scholarship. The scholarship will be used for professional development workshops at the upcoming AVCA Convention. Burns is in her first year at Loyola after a standout career as a libero at American University.
Jaspers, Red Foxes & Saints
Manhattan brings a 12-9 overall record to Reitz Arena, a 5-4 mark in MAAC action. Malia McGuinness leads the Jaspers with a 3.46 kills per game average, while LaKell Havens is hitting .275 and posting 1.08 blocks per set. Mariana Furquim earned MAAC Offensive Player of the Week honors on Monday after averaging 4.0 kills and 3.33 digs last weekend.
Marist defeated Loyola in five at Reitz Arena on September 18 in the second MAAC match of the season and is now 8-11, 5-4 in the conference. Grace Hill tops the Red Foxes with a 3.29 kills per game average, and Joanna Foss is averaging 3.04.
Loyola defeated Siena in five the first time the teams met on September 17, marking the first time since 2007 the Greyhounds had opened MAAC play with a victory. The Saints are now 6-12 overall, 4-6 in the league, heading into this weekend’s slate of matches. Taylor Akana is tops in the conference with 4.11 kills per set, while Lesli Akeo is posting 5.03 digs per set.
Dig-A-Thon
Loyola posted a season-high 76 digs in its victory over Rider despite the fact the match was over in three sets. The Greyhounds’ previous high of 73 came in a five-set affair with Siena.
The Broncs had 144 attack attempts in the match, but they hit just .153 thanks to Loyola’s solid defense.
Janet Pressler continued her solid play as the team’s libero, totaling 23 digs against Rider. She has posted 10 or more digs in 12 of 14 matches that she has served as the libero (beginning August 27 against Tennessee State), and the only two matches she did not reach double-figures, she posted nine in three-set contests.
She has 235 digs this season, an average of 3.85, and she has led the squad in digs in all but two of the matches she has served as libero. During MAAC play, Pressler has averaged 4.43 digs per set, a mark that ranks fourth in the league.
Pressler was name the MAAC Defensive Player of the Week last Monday for her efforts in the win over Rider.
Distributing The Sets
Lauren Andersen posted 38 assists in the win at Rider, a three-set season-high for the freshman. Six different Loyola hitters had kills, and the Greyhounds hit .204 as a team.
Andersen has averaged 9.29 assists per set in MAAC play, up from her season-long average of 8.76 per set.
Telling Stats
Loyola has not won a match when it has a lower attack percentage this season, going 0-16 in those matches. Conversely, the Greyhounds are 6-0 when they hit for a higher clip than their opponents. The Greyhounds are also 0-15 when they post fewer kills.
