The women’s volleyball team capped off an exciting weekend with a Charm City Classic victory on Saturday, beating UMBC in the final round to win the tournament at Reitz Arena. Loyola also defeated Canisius and Charlotte in the preceding rounds on Friday to reach the finals. The Hounds outlasted the Retrievers three sets to one (25-20, 26-28, 25-17, 25-22) to win their third match of the weekend and improve to a 5-5 record on the year.

Three Greyhounds made the all-tournament first team, including tournament MVP Abby Hamilton ‘22, who had at least 17 kills in each match, including an average of five per set. Ashley Dwyer ’23 and Katie Forsythe ‘22 also made the first team. Dwyer had a career-high 52 assists against UMBC in the final round, and Forsythe led the Loyola defense with 63 digs. 

Several other Hounds had standout performances in the final match against the Retrievers. Mackenzie Fedota ‘21 had 13 kills while Cat Vaccaro ’22 and Ann Ernst ‘20 each had nine. Corinne Filograna ’22 also had a record-breaking night, recording 12 digs. 

The first set remained close as UMBC got up a few points, then Loyola quickly caught up. This cycle repeated itself until Ernst tied the score at 16, which was followed by a brief Loyola run led by Dwyer to take a 19-17 lead to force a Retrievers timeout.

The timeout did not stop Loyola’s momentum, as Fedota rattled off three of the next four points to make it 23-18. Hamilton finished off the set with her sixth kill.

A late UMBC run gave the visiting team the victory in the second set. The Hounds held a steady 21-14 lead, but it quickly evaporated into a 23-21 deficit. The rest of the set featured back-and-forth points for each team, but UMBC slipped away with three final points to win the set 28-26.

Loyola once again took a commanding lead in the third set, going up 17-10. This time they did not squander their advantage, keeping the Retrievers at bay and winning handily 25-17. Vaccaro had four kills on 100% swinging in the set. 

The fourth set began just like the preceding one, as the home team went up 18-10. UMBC stuck around though, cutting the lead to 18-15. Late in the set, they found themselves down only two points, 24-22, but an untimely error gave Loyola the final point and the win. Fedota led the Hounds with six kills in the final set.

Photo Courtesy of Loyola Athletics.