The weekend of Oct. 19 and 20 proved to be a big one for the Greyhounds volleyball team. By going 1-1 with a sweep of Lafayette in three and a close loss in five to Lehigh, the Greyhounds remained in fourth place in the Patriot League.

The game against Lafayette was well-rounded and allowed all members of the Greyhounds to contribute to a well-executed sweep of the Lafayette Leopards. Cat Vaccaro, ‘22, and Haley Puddy, ‘19, led the team with eight kills, followed by Ernst who had seven. Molly Jarvis, ‘20, led the team with four blocks, and Katie Forsythe, ‘22, led the team with 16 digs.

Then came Lehigh on Saturday, Oct. 20. It was back and forth for each of the five games. In one moment, the Greyhounds would be on top, and then Lehigh. At the end of the day, though, Lehigh came out on top in the fifth set with a score of 15-12.

In the game, Ernst led the team with 17 kills, followed closely by Puddy with 16. Forsythe, once again, led the team in digs with 37, followed by Ernst with 19 and Alex Fischer, ‘21, with 17. Overall, it was errors and blocking that got the best of the Greyhounds. Lehigh more than doubled the Greyhounds blocks, and the Greyhounds’ hitting stayed low with a .124.

Looking forward to the next pairing of games, the Greyhounds are excited will close out the games at Reitz for the year with a win.

In the game against Lehigh, Ernst came out and led the team in kills. In the process of leading the team in kills, Ernst earned her 1,000th kill. Ernst’s 1,000th kill led the Greyhounds to fight in the fifth set against Lehigh on Saturday, Oct. 20.

Ernst has a had an impressive career so far at Loyola, and it is only her junior season. In her freshman season (2016), she led all Patriot League freshmen in kills and kills per set. Then, in her sophomore season (2017), Ernst had double-digit kills in 22 of the team’s 29 games. Now, in her junior year, she has earned her 1,000th kill. It’s exciting to think of where she will go next.

The Greyhounds return the weekend of Oct. 27 and Oct. 28 for their last home games of the season against American and Navy. The Navy game on Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. is Senior Day, as seniors Alisah Cash, Haley Puddy and Molly Werts step on out on Reitz Arena for the last time.

Feature Image: Courtesy of Craig Chase